The The Abia State government has closed off a property at No.40 Ekenna Street, GRA, Aba, which was reportedly transferred by the previous administration to Chief Godswill Nwonoruo, the former Commissioner for Transport in the state.
Another property at No.1 Alex Onyeado Close, Aba, previously a state veterinary office, was also sealed, allegedly transferred to a former deputy governor in the state.
According to Mr. Uche Ukeje, General Manager of the Greater Aba Development Authority, the property at Ekenna Street, now called 'Corpus Lodge', was transferred to the former Transport Commissioner on April 29, 2023, through a certificate of occupancy (C of O), after the 2023 general election winner had been declared.
Ukeje emphasized that the previous government reclaimed the property at Ekenna Street from Church Gate Holdings, a partner of Abia State in Aba Textile Mills, and handed it over to the Abia State Advertisement and Signage Agency (ABSAA). However, it was then transferred to the ex-Transport Commissioner, who was a former consultant to the agency.
Regarding the property at Alex Onyeado Close, Ukeje also mentioned that it previously housed the veterinary office headquarters in Aba before being transferred to private ownership. He revealed that the state government had earmarked the site for an industrial court instead of allowing a private individual to keep it. Ukeje stressed the government's responsibility to protect the state's assets and prevent them from falling into private hands through non-transparent processes.
