From Okey Sampson, Aba

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Prince B.B Apugo accused Theodore Orji of plotting his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He said “the evil design did not yield the desired result.”
Addressing newsmen at his Nkata Ibeku country home in Umuahia North Local Government, Apugo narrated how Theodore Orji, when he was governor, wanted to buy his six plots of land at Umulari Layout, Umuahia, which was the bone of contention, but he refused.
He said the same former governor, in a bid to tarnish his image, allegedly went behind through a man he identified simply as Izuwa and met his caretaker who sold six plots of land to him (Izuwa).
Apugo said it was after the said Izuwa went to T.A Orji, as governor pretending to be obtaining a certificate of occupancy (C of O), that the former governor confiscated the documents and petitioned the EFCC that the land he sold in Umuahia belonged to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
“When T.A Orji was governor of Abia State; he wanted to buy six plots from our land at Umulari Layout, Umuahia. I told the person he sent that if T.A Orji was prepared to pay N1 billion for one to leave the land, he would not get it because his money is accidental. I don’t want such money to come into our purse.
“He (Orji) then went back and used one of the blackmailers I didn’t even know where he came from. The man called Izuwa met the caretaker of that layout and asked for a purchase and the caretaker sold six plots to him not knowing that it was T.A Orji who gave him money to buy it.
When you even look at the man (whom if I even see now, I will not recognise him), you will know he had no such money. The man went to search in the state Ministry of Lands and it was certified it was BB Apugo’s landed property.
“After selling the land to him, the man went back to the ministry where it was registered in his name. Eventually, when T.A Orji collected the documents of the land pretending that the man came for Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) when in the actual agreement between us and government, it was stated that what was given the layout was automatic C of O, meaning that anybody buying any plot of land from the layout was covered immediately I signed the documents.
“What happened in this case was that since it was not the man that bought the land, it was T.A Orji that went behind just to tarnish my image. He took the documents of the land and wrote to EFCC that I sold Nigerian Railway Corporation’s (NRC) land.
NRC rail lines are about four kilometres to that place, they have no land there. They have no business there and did not acquire land from me there.
And, NRC did not say they owned any land there. if there was anything like that, it was NRC and not T.A that should have taken me to court.”
Apugo said after writing the petition over the land deal that took place in 2014 when Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was still the president, the former governor kept mounting pressure on EFCC and they dragged him to court.
“Now, from the pressure T.A was giving them because of the money he gave them, they took me to court without serving me and the judge of the Federal High Court 2 in Umuahia, Justice E.E Osiago refused their plea to give them authority to go and serve me court summons.
“But when they put pressure on the judge handling the matter, surprisingly, the same judge that refused the EFCC motion to serve me, came to court the following day and issued a warrant of arrest against me.”
The APC chieftain said despite the fact that his lawyer appealed against the bench warrant at the Court of Appeal at Owerri and served the Federal High Court, Umuahia, saying it was wrong for the court to issue warrant of arrest when his client has not been served, yet EFCC officials went to his house to execute that order. “The judge was compromised, everybody will look at it that way because there is no way you will issue warrant of arrest on somebody you have not served.”
Narrating further, Apugo said: “T.A planned it in a way with the judge and officials of the EFCC that if I was arrested on Friday and taken into custody by the EFCC, then before Tuesday when I will appear in court since Monday (today) is public holiday, he (T.A) would have used his hacks to tell Nigerians that I am a criminal. But it did not work out for them and it should be left to Nigerians and Abians in particular to know between T.A and I who is supposed to be in prison for looting Abia funds.
To show you it was a grand design to tarnish my image which they could not and will never succeed in doing, since the court issued the bench warrant, it should have been served on the commissioner of police for the order to be carried out, but in this case, it was the EFCC officials from Enugu zone that came to execute the order and they came with as many journalists they were able to convince.
Apugo stated that when he looked at the whole scenario, he knew the EFCC were instigated and as a good citizen who had nothing to fear, he had to follow them to Enugu.
“I was asked to go immediately I got to the EFCC office in Enugu because they knew I did nothing and that was how that evil plan failed and I returned to my house in Umuahia the same day”.
On why he thought the former governor was behind what happened, the APC chieftain responded swiftly, “Everybody knows that I have for long been shouting about the looting of the state funds by officials of the state government under T.A Orji and have made calls on the EFCC to recover such funds.
“So, he thinks by doing this, he will get back at him, but he did not know he has failed and what he did has no meaning because I will continue to call on him to give account of the Abia money entrusted in his care for eight years because we did not seen what he did with them”.

Related News

He commended the acting chairman of EFCC for doing a good job in helping President Mohammadu Buhari in fighting corruption, he however appealed to him to recognize EFCC zonal offices so that its officials would not be pawn in the hands of corrupt politicians.
He should remember that Orji Uzor Kalu and I bargained to recruit him in 1998 when he was working with INEC, he knew my status during that period . After recruiting him in 1999, we promised to make him principal secretary to government, government secretary, permanent secretary  and Chief of Staff which he held until he went to prison. From prison, he was assisted by Orji Kalu to become the governor of Abia state in 2007.
T.A. Orji is a man you sit with and he will be telling you yes, when he actually meant no.
But for Orji Kalu, he is a man who keeps to his words and promises. During the time I worked with T.A. Orji, I did my best to give his government a boost, both in the state and the nation.”
He said on the electricity project Orji accused him of abandoning, he executed the first one which  Orji  was still owing him N50 million and had sunk  in his personal fund of N18 million on the second one when he discovered that Orji was deceiving him  and left his administration.
“As I speak with you,  government is owing me about N68 Million which he refused to pay before leaving office. So, he lied saying that he awarded me contract and paid me upfront. He did the same to so many contractors in and outside the state. But truthfully, he had his own intentions of dealing  with anyone he suspected of having the same political aspirations with him. He would do everything within his reach to ensure that he either incapacitates the person politically, drains the person’s finances or any other thing that would make the person not to have money to challenge him politically. He believed that the best way to deal with some of us was to fleece us of our money through giving us contracts, which he had made up his mind that he would not pay for. He believes that with money, he gets anything he wants to get politically and that is what he is into. He did the same to many people in Abia, not only me,”Ukasanya said.
Meanwhile,  chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince B.B Apugo has accused the immediate past governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Orji of plotting his purported arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He expressed delight that the evil design could not yield the desired result.
Addressing select newsmen at his Nkata Ibeku country home in Umuahia North Local Government, Apugo narrated how T.A Orji, when he was governor wanted to buy his six plots of land at Umulari Layout, Umuahia, which was the bone of contention, but he refused.
The APC chieftain said the same Orji, in his bid to tarnish his image, allegedly went behind through a man he identified simply as Izuwa and met his caretaker who sold six plots of land to him (Izuwa).
Apugo said it was after the said Izuwa went to T.A Orji, as governor pretending to be obtaining a certificate of occupancy (C of O), that the former governor confiscated the documents and petitioned the EFCC that the land he sold in Umuahia belonged to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
When I was his adviser, I asked him to make sure that he reactivated the regional water scheme and he started it and abandoned it immediately I left his administration. He should tell Abians what he did with their billions for eight years without infrastructure on the ground. There is no water, no hospital, what he tried to do at Amachara hospital, MECURE and Abia state University teaching hospital are all death traps.  Any one who go to that place has made up his mind to commit suicide.
If you go to Mcure along Aba road, you will see well painted structure housing medical facilities centre , but getting inside, you find dilapidated , condemned and outdated equipment from America and Europe. Go t Abia state University Teaching Hospital, the story is the same, there is no water,  building housing medical equipment are without ventilation, , lights and lifts. Go t the so called state secretariat, and see the quality of building inside, no lights, toilet facility, the only thing that shines there is the paint.
This man called T. A. Orji who could not perform as a governor  worked  himself to the senate as a Senator and it is evidently clear that none voted for him. We shall see the next place he will fraudulently go to after this place, whether it will be heaven as there is no fraud in heaven.
As  a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, what contributions would such a person make to better the conditions and lives of his constituents . In civilized world, a person like T. A. Orji should have faced the criminal court to answer charges of on what he did with the Federal allocation and IGR for eight years.  This man should have been in prison , convicted for failure to give account of his stewardship for this number of years he served as the governor of the state.
Now, Abia state is not moving , when I still in PDP, he made a promise for us to have his successor , the elders of this state, the party and himself, that we will jointly decide on who will take over from him.
Things started changing when he decided to single handedly appoint his successor.  And the purpose of doing this was for him to continue being a defector governor after serving out his tenure. When I found out that it was his intention, I opposed it , but because he has the purse of the government, he was able to actualize his wish as a result, the governor he made cannot perform. Because this governor is just like a man who is asked to go and swim with his two hands and legs tied . This is the kind of governor he has made and at the House of Assembly, he made sure that the governor is not in control.
On the executive structure, he made it in such a way that the governor  has no right to choose his Chief of staff and others to serve him. Attorney General , Secretary to the state Government, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, which the Abia state Government has made to be very important, the governor is not in charge.  The ministry that control the Local Government allocation and distribution on the federal Government allocation,  coming into the state, the Accountant General , who should have retired , had his tenure extended  and he was promoted to permanent secretary, just for him to do the wish of his boss Chief T.A. Orji.
The office of the deputy Governor, the Deputy Governor himself is the nominee of T.A. Orji and his son, so with structure surrounding the government the way it is , Ikpeazu can never perform because the governor as a young man will like to make a name , but he won’t get that chance except he tries to unbundle himself from T.A. Orji and family.
The Ngwa people who are happy that they have a governor of their own extraction will along the line find out that the way things are in this state, this governor will not serve them.
I want the governor to bear in mind that Nigeria of today is different from what we had two years ago, whatever he does,  he should bear in mind that at the end of his tenure , he will give account of his stewardship to Abians.
I am also calling on T. A. Orji to come and give account of his stewardship to the people of Abia before the people will on their own , drag him out to do so.