Okezie Ikpeazu governed the state between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the PDP.
Seventy-one per cent of land allottees under the immediate-past administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu got land from the Abia State Government by merely making a verbal expression of interest to a government official, an audit report has revealed.
The action violated Section 2 of Nigeria's Land Use Act of 1978, the report said.
The report, obtained by PREMIUM TIMES last month, was compiled by KPMG International Nigeria Limited, an auditing firm.
The incumbent governor of the, Alex Otti, had in a letter dated 13 July 2023 engaged the services of the KPMG to conduct the forensic audit of the state government's account under his predecessor, Mr Ikpeazu, who governed the state between 2015 and 2023.
The KPMG submitted the report to Abia State Government on 2 March.
The 359-page report was dubbed Final Report: Provision of Process Review Services to Abia State Government.
The report, covering between 29 May 2015 and 28 May 2023, shows that 65 of 91 land allottees during the period were not qualified as they did not submit applications.
The 65 unqualified land allottees represented 71 per cent of the total allotment by the former administration, according to the report
What the law says vs what Ikpeazu did
Section 2 of the Land Use Act of 1978 mandates governors of every state in Nigeria to set up a Land Use and Allocation Committee which will be responsible for the control and administration of lands in their state and provide advisory functions to the governor with respect to the lands in the state.
However, this committee, according to the report, was not set up by Mr Ikpeazu, leaving the administration and control of lands at the mercy of the commissioner, permanent secretary and director of lands in violation of the law.
In the absence of the Land Allocation Committee, the Ministry of Lands formulated a policy for land allocation, which it repeatedly disregarded, the report said.
The director of lands while appearing before KPMG, stated that all allottees are required to apply in writing to the commissioner of lands before an offer of allocation could be issued to them.
"An application that qualifies for an allocation must be accompanied by an application fee, a passport photograph of the applicant (logo of company) and a tax clearance certificate for the last three years before the date of application.
"He (director of lands) further stated that there are allottees who only expressed their interest to the commissioner verbally without submitting a written application for allocation and were issued an offer letter. Some of these allottees submitted application letters after offers had been made, whereas some allottees did not submit any application," the report read in part.
The report found that the ministry had no documented policy that guides the land allocation process in the state, a condition state officials took advantage of and allotted lands to people without due process.
"We analysed the 91 allocations files, noting that 26 allottees submitted application letters while 65 allottees did not submit any application letters to the commissioner," but were allotted lands, KPMG said in the report.
Of the 26 allottees, only eight paid application fees and submitted passports but did not submit tax clearance certificates.
Seven of them submitted passports but did not pay the required application fees, while three paid application fees but submitted no passport and tax clearance certificate.
KPMG recommended a review of all ongoing applications for land in the state to ensure that all application requirements are satisfied before the allocation of land.
KPMG may not have land allocation details - Ikpeazu reacts
When contacted, the spokesperson to Mr Ikpeazu, Onyechuchi Ememanka, argued that the state government did not conduct a forensic audit but only hired KPMG to carry out a "process review" of Mr Ikpeazu's administration.
"A forensic audit will clearly state the professional opinion of auditors. They make conclusive statements," Mr Ememanka said.
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KPMG indicated in the report that it was possible that some information and documents were not made available to it during the assignment.
Relying on the submission made by the KPMG on the possibility that information or documents exist were not made available to it, Mr Ememanka said that KPMG has "conceded and admitted that its report is inconclusive and cannot form the basis of anything".
"Remember, KPMG said they were not conducting an inquiry. You cannot audit ABSG during Mr Ikpeazu's administration without inviting the men who worked as accountant general and commissioner for finance of the state during that period," he said.
Speaking on the issue of land allocations, the former governor's spokesperson argued that it was also possible that application letters of allocation of lands were not shown to the firm.
"On the allocation of lands, because KPMG has already admitted that it is possible that there is information or documents they were not shown, don't you see that it is also possible that application letters of allocation of lands were not shown to the firm," he said, adding that the report is a call for further enquiry," Mr Ememanka stated.
