INSIGHT

THE ALLEGED N75BN CASH
HANDOVER IS WORK OF FICTION
*Where is the Balance on Intafact Investment?
*What happened to the Investment in ASIPGC?
Wri en by Paul Ojinnaka Nwosu
You will recall that almost a week ago, Anambra State
Government came forward to set the record straight with
regards to how much the previous administra on le in the
ll. The government made it clear that the previous administra on
did not hand over N75bn cash as claimed. The government then
gave an accurate posi on of the account it inherited.
Following this disclosure, media contractors of the previous
administra on le the issues at stake and launched a war of
calumny and character assassina on against the government and
Governor of the State. The debate climaxed at ‘Sun Rise’, a
Channels television live program where the arrow head of the
a ack against this government openly conceded that the previous
administra on indeed did not hand over N75bn cash to Governor
Willie Obiano’s government.
Though the open confession on Channels television may seem to
have put paid to the controversy fuelled by the loyalists of the
previous governor, the issue of the so called N75bn has a racted a
closer scru ny of the hand over note thereby raising important
ques ons which require answers from the key actors of the
previous administra on.
Intafact Beverages and Anambra State Independent Power
Genera ng Company Ltd featured prominently as items 8 and 11
on the previous administra on’s famous hand over note which
bequeathed the so called N75bn to His Excellency, Governor Willie
Obiano. The hand over note stated that the past administra on
invested N3.5bn in Intafact Beverages, Onitsha. Meanwhile, it was
discovered that only N1.4bn was invested, leaving a shor all of
N2.1bn. It was a er Governor Obiano took over that an addi onal
N540m was invested in the company to finance its expansion plan.
The ques on being asked now is: what happened to that balance
of N2.1bn? With all the accountants and financial managers at the
disposal of the previous government, this could hardly be an error.
Item 11 of the same hand over note shows that the sum of N250m
was paid as the State’s investment to Denca Resources, the project
developers of the Anambra State Independent Power Genera ng
Company Ltd (ASIPGC) for the proposed 400MW project in Ogbaru
Local Government Area. So far Denca has done nothing and has
refused to honour all government’s invita on to a mee ng where
the project would be discussed. The ques on being asked again is:
was this money actually paid to this company? If it was paid, those
who paid should speak up because it is strange that a company
with that kind of naira spinning project will refuse to honour the
invita ons of a new government to chart the way forward. The
company’s reluctance to come forward is suspicious.
These two cases leave a sour taste in the mouth and un l the
ques ons raised therefrom are sa sfactorily answered, the
integrity of the previous administra on will remain suspect
irrespec ve of its pretenses to be standing on a moral high
ground.
But beyond these highly ques onable transac ons, there are
other sec ons within the hand over note where the previous
16
administra on referred to provision of ‘counterpart funds’ to
specialized financial ins tu ons as ‘investments’. One finds it hard
to believe that with all the financial experts in Anambra State, the
previous government could not make a dis nc on between a
counterpart fund and an investment .
There are also other fatuous investments in financial instruments
which are clearly puni ve and made out of veiled malice to
deliberately reduce the cash flow at the disposal of the incoming
administra on. The fact that the previous administra on spent 8
years and never thought it fit to invest in some financial
instrument is instruc ve. This was the same way it never thought
it fit to hold local government elec ons and carry out massive
employment into the Civil Service for 8 years un l the eve of
Governor Obiano’s inaugura on.
The so called hand over note was scripted to mislead and
misinform abini o. It was a clumsy a empt at financial photoshopping,
nothing more.
Some of Ndi Anambra have con nued to ask why it took the
government this long to set the record straight.
First, government did not wish to cause panic among contractors
and investors who were already primed to move into the State in
view of the secure environment. An experienced banker, Governor
Obiano believed that without the money he could, through
prudent financial reengineering, get the system running on federal
alloca on and internally generated revenue which has been
dras cally revved up since he came in. And this he has been doing
ll date. It is also per nent to place on record that he has not even
touched the cash balance and investments in other financial
instruments. Secondly, government was reluctant to wash its dirty
linen in the public hoping that good conscience would prevail on
the part of the former governor and his paid publicists. But when
it became obvious these hounds wouldn’t relent in a ribu ng
every good work of this government to theN75bn fic on and were
even sugges ng that Governor Obiano’s administra on was
contempla ng a loan, it became incumbent on the government to
put the facts in public domain before lies repeatedly told would
begin to assume the toga of the truth. It became absolutely
necessary to avail Ndi Anambra the truth so that they can separate
the chaff from substance and renew their confidence in a
Governor they had willingly elected to work for them.
Even though Ndi Anambra already knew their immediate past
governor isn’t a saint, his meek façade and decep ve voice
notwithstanding, it has become necessary for them to have the
raw facts. Government’s silence should not be mistaken for
cowardice.
Given the revela ons popped up by this ma er and the public
interest it has generated, it is about me the EFCC and ICPC get
interested in the issue. They will collec vely have more than a
mouthful to chew and could as well help to unravel a few other
deals that had been shrouded in top secrecy.