Present pictures, movies of 53 colleges renovated with N54bn — Ikonne challenges Abia govt

The immediate past Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Lands Development Authority, NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, has challenged the Alex Otti-led Abia Government to show photographic and video evidence of its N54 billion spending on 53 school renovations across the state.

This comes as Ikonne raised serious concerns over the administration’s claim that it spent N54 billion on the renovation and construction of public schools across Abia State.

Ikonne, in a statement released by his media aide, Ujo Justice, described the government’s claim as “deeply suspicious, laughable, and insulting to the collective intelligence of Abians,” especially when compared with the current shameful condition of schools in the state.

He questioned how any responsible government could boldly claim to have spent an enormous sum of N54 billion on merely 53 schools, without corresponding evidence on ground.

The Accountant General of Abia State, Njum Uma-Onyemenam, had revealed that the state generated N320 billion in 2024 from Federation Account Allocation Committee, allocations and internally generated revenue, with key expenditures listed in the report — published on the state government’s official website on 28 January 2025 — including rehabilitation of public schools (N54.07 billion).

Reacting to the expenditure claim by the Abia Government, Ikonne said, “What we see in Ukwa and several other parts of Abia is an education sector that is visibly in ruins. Ceilings are caving in, blackboards are barely usable, roofs are missing, walls are covered in moss, and some students still sit on bare floors under leaking roofs. If N54 billion was truly spent, then show us where. Which schools? What exactly was done? Let the government name them and take us there.

“How on earth does anyone justify spending N54 billion on just 53 schools, with nothing visible to show? This must not be swept under the carpet. Abians must ask questions. Lawmakers must wake up. We need a comprehensive forensic audit of this expenditure. Our children deserve better.”