Senator Athan Achonu, the Imo State Labour Party governorship candidate for the November 11 election, has described as false a report that Mathan Nigeria Limited, a company owned by him, abandoned a contract for the construction of Primary Health Care Centres in each of the 774 local government areas in the country awarded to the company by the Federal Government.
The senator who picked hole in the story said that it has no correlation with its headline.
In a statement signed by Chibuikem Diala, director, Media, Senator Athan Achonu Campaign, said that the timing of the report gave those behind the misleading story and their intentions away.
“Whereas the headline mentions Imo youths, the story quotes an innocuous United Nigerian Youth Forum, who are not only ill-informed and ignorant, but also appear to be in a hurry to dance to the tune of their paymaster. There was no mention of Imo youths in the story. Again, why is it that it is only now when Imo election is around the corner, and Sen. Achonu is garnering massive followership, that the youth group woke up in Kaduna to rake up unfounded allegations,” he queried.
Shedding more light on the project which was awarded in 2007 by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, but terminated by the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the governorship candidate said that “the project to construct health centres in the 774 local government areas across the country, was conceived and initiated by Chief Athan Nneji Achonu, who then introduced (proposed) it to ALGON during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The project was approved and all the contract papers were duly verified, all the documentations were prepared and packaged by the relevant authorities, including ALGON, all legal and financial arrangements followed due process and after all was said and done the agreement formally signed on the 16th of February, 2007.
“The project for the construction and delivery of the 774 Primary Health Centres commenced comprehensively and in earnest in 2007. However, the contract was technically terminated by the National Economic Council in December 2007, when a new President, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and a set of new governors were elected and came on board to pilot the affairs of the various states, including supervising engagements and activities in the LGAs administration.
“It was deduced that some newly elected state governors in an effort to stamp their authority, wondered how such a massive contract could be awarded to a single individual and they were not part of it. So, they moved for its suspension. Senator Athan Achonu, being the meticulous, astute and very accountable businessman, that he is, proceeded to seek clarification for the government action by due process in the courts to defend himself and the contract against the unfounded allegations that led to the suspension of the project and it is on record that he has emerged victorious at every stage of the litigation, which lasted for 3 (three) years, in the various courts, against the Federal Government.
“The project, which was supposed to last for a period of one (1) year, was thus stopped by the government of President Alhaji Musa Yar’ Adua and did not recommence until 2010, when Vice President Goodluck Jonathan constitutionally became President by the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’. However, the project was suspended again after President Goodluck Jonathan became a duly elected president.
“The initial three years delay in the project was as a result of the fact that the then government halted the project and placed a standing order that funds should not be released thus suffocating contractors with huge debts and truncating the smooth process of the work. The same scenario was continued throughout the government of President Goodluck Ebele Johnathan till the advent of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The project is still ongoing, as at today due to the various victories of Mathan Nigeria Limited against the Federal Government in the law courts. Also, despite the insecurity in parts of the Northeast, North-central and indeed across the country, the project was never abandoned. It is necessary to also state here that 195 PHCs had been completed pre-2020 and 363 PHCs completed post-2020. This makes it a total of 558 PHCs accounting for over 70 per cent of the total centres, which further corroborates the point that the project is still ongoing.”
He, therefore, called on Imolites to disregard the report, describing it as “mere political fabrications to distract the “Take back Imo” movement, which he claimed is growing in leaps and bounds with each passing day.