The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has debunked the media report that he authorised the payment of N9.3bn meant for road construction to a Micro-Finance Bank.
Tracka, BudgIT’s service delivery promotion platform, alleged that it uncovered a total of N9.3bn paid by the Federal Ministry of Works to FIMS Microfinance Bank Ltd. Accusing the minister of breaking the 2007 procurement law.
But the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, Barrister Orji Uchenna Orji, in a statement on Saturday, described the report as malicious and the imagination of the writer, saying that Umahi was the governor of Ebonyi State when the project was awarded.
The statement, which also quoted the minister reacting to the allegation while on the inspection tour to the East, said the release of the funds for 62 projects to the bank was conducted between June and December 2023.
The minister, who also clarified that he was in the senate when the first payment was paid in June, said the ministry acted in accordance with the law as the payment was made for service delivered by contractors and not for the contract awarded to the bank itself.
“Let me also use the opportunity to debunk something ongoing in social media. I don’t know what they call the group, is it Tracka or something? It is said it is monitoring the budget of the federal government. And I saw where they put my picture, a very beautiful picture, for that matter, and said that we paid 9.3bn to the microfinance bank, the minister said.
