Mauritz Walton, a consultancy firm that consulted for Abia State government on the Paris Club Refund loans, has said that ex-banker and former governorship candidate in Abia, Alex Otti, ought to have availed himself of the facts and circumstances surrounding the repayment of the Abia State Paris Club Refunds before issuing the statement entitled: “Abia Paris Club Refunds: Stealing on an Industrial Scale”, which was published in some national dailies on Wednesday.
The consultancy firm, while reacting to the statement, advised Otti to avail himself the opportunity to understand the agreement and implications before his conclusion that it is “stealing on an industrial scale.”
Otti had alluded that the contract was a grand plan to flinch the state government with “Such brazen audacity and cruelty that has the propensity to ruin the state in perpetuity and make millions of Abians slaves to the perpetrators of those heinous financial crimes” and that the contract was meant to cripple the state economically.
In a statement signed by the Group Executive Chairman/CEO of Mauritz Walton Nig. Ltd, Dr Maurice Ibe, said the firm’s contract with the Abia government was for the betterment of the citizens of the state and added that no single individual or entity has brought $151 million to the State since its creation.
Ibe also advised two former commissioners of Finance in the state, Obinna Oriaku and Philip Nto, to tell the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the public all they know about the misappropriation of the money paid to Abia State Government by the Federal Government, rather than misinforming the public.
“It may please Mr Alex Otti and Abians, in general, to know that Mr Obinna Oriaku not only re-engaged the services of Mauritz Walton twice at the direction of the Governor, Dr Okezie Ipkeazu, but directly supervised the squandering of over N22 billion received by the state from the Paris Club Refund.
“Mr Oriaku should also explain to the people of Abia what happened to the 5 per cent consultancy fees paid to the Nigerian Governors’ Forum which ended in the pockets of Abia State government officials.”
The statement reads in part: “Ordinarily, we would have waved aside the press release on Tuesday, July 6, by ex-banker and former governorship candidate, Alex Otti on the Paris Club Refund scandal currently rocking Abia State Government, but on a second thought we felt the headline, “Abia Paris Club Refunds: Stealing on an Industrial Scale”, is capable of misleading the general public that the whole exercise was wrapped in a scam.
“So, we feel obliged and will like to educate Alex Otti on certain things as the consultant that handled the reconciliation of Abia State excess foreign loans deductions by the Federal Government.
“We, Mauritz Walton Nig.Ltd, were engaged by the Abia State government on November 3, 2014, to help it reconcile and retrieve the funds, after our proposal to that effect was accepted; and agreement was signed by both parties – Mauritz Walton and Abia Government.
“However, after the successful execution of the contract, Abia government became unwilling to fulfil its side of the bargain and has since refused to pay.
“Two, to the best of our knowledge there was no other consultant than Mauritz Walton. The firm did all the paperwork from the beginning to the end until the federal government paid Abia the over deducted sum. So, a second consultant was never in the picture.
“Our contractual agreement with Abia government was never to plunder the State as you insinuated, but to work for the State which we did with professional touch and diligence. The end result is the Federal Government payment to Abia Government of the over-deducted loans,” Mauritz Walton added.
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