State Pays N15b To Contractors

Approves N1.2b For Community Development

THE Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Chief Benjamin Uwajimogu, has disclosed payment of about N15b by the state government to contractors handling various development projects in the state.

Also, Governor Rochas Okorocha has approved the sum of N1.2b to fast track development in rural areas of about 538 communities in 27 local councils of the state.

Briefing reporters at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, along Port Harcourt Road, Owerri, at the weekend, Uwajimogu said: “The state government has paid about N15b to contractors. We (the House of Assembly) have ensured, through our oversight functions of monitoring, that the jobs are carried out according to contract terms.”

Addressing newly appointed executive secretaries at the weekend in Owerri, Okorocha noted that his administration is determined to extend development to communities that had hitherto been denied same over the years.

“This government has approved the sum of N1.2b for the immediate development of the communities,” he said.

Okorocha directed monarchs in the affected communities to monitor roads and other projects in their domains.

The governor also disclosed that some local councils – Onuimo, Ngor Opkala and Nwangele – would receive special funds for development and urged the cooperation of citizens towards achievement of his “lofty goals”.