By Emeka Gerald
Rather than address the fundamental questions surrounding the controversial ₦600,000 fee demand from occupants of shops at Orie Nempi Market, Chairman of Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State, Engr. Ikenna Adikibe, has turned the spotlight to the hurriedly fixed renovation project at the adjoining Nempi Eastern Primary School.
Adikibe has been publicizing the phantom commencement of work at the school, presenting it as evidence of how the money is being deployed. But the central question over the alleged payment of the shop revenue into a private account which Adikibe was accused of providing remains unanswered.
The issue, as previously raised by the traders and other sources, is not simply whether the ₦600,000 shops revenue is being used for a makeshift development project or not.
The more fundamental concern is why occupants of the shops were directed to make the payment into an account identified as belonging to one Chibuzo Engineering Ltd, with account number; 1029494083, Bank: UBA, rather than the recognized revenue account of the local government council.
The traders had insisted that the demand for the ₦600,000 was issued to them with threats of eviction or demolition if they failed to comply.
The traders had also questioned whether payments made into the said private account would subsequently be remitted into the local government account and properly accounted for by the present or subsequent administrations of the Council, to avoid double payment.
The shops, according to the earlier accounts by the occupants and some information gathered by the investigative journalists, were constructed around 2022 and 2023 between Orie Nempi Market and the fringes of Nempi Eastern Primary School with the consent of the School Management and the Town Union then.
The traders had maintained that the controversy was not about their willingness to pay legitimate charges, but about the private account into which they were instructed to make the payment.
To this effect, Adikibe’s latest public presentation of the hurriedly fixed school renovation project therefore leaves unanswered the question of the payment channel and has left much to be desired.
Showing what the money is allegedly being used for does not, by itself, explain why the payment was allegedly directed into the private account in question or the authority under which such an arrangement was made.
However, the unanswered questions surrounding the administration extend beyond the shop revenue controversy.
Also, as Chairman of the Imo State Chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Adikibe had faced allegations concerning the coordination, cohesion and the unity of ALGON members in Imo State.
Previous investigations had raised concerns about the effectiveness of the ALGON office along Okigwe Road, Owerri, with the sources alleging that regular meetings of local government Chairmen and administrative activities were not in existence there as expected, as our visit to the location proves that for over 7 months now, the office has been under lock and key.
Some of the sources familiar with the Association’s affairs had also alleged that multiple divisions among council chairmen are negatively affecting the smooth running of Imo ALGON.
More significantly, journalists had gathered that some members of the Association were not part of the protest against Governor Hope Uzodimma’s earlier pronouncement concerning the end of the tenure of local government chairmen and councillors in Imo State.
The sources had alleged that the protest was initiated, supported and sponsored from behind by Adikibe.
It was further alleged that sometime in July 2026, Adikibe paid for about 500 copies of an Imo based newspaper edition which reported the court case involving council chairmen seeking an extension of their tenure. According to the sources, the alleged purchase was intended to limit circulation of the publication in the state.
The earlier investigation also reported that after another Imo based newspaper published a related report, Adikibe allegedly directed the Oru West Council Legal Officer who contacted the publisher and pressured the newspaper to withdraw the publication.
The sources further alleged that Adikibe subsequently generated existing signatures of all the local government chairmen in a statement denying that they had demanded an extension of their tenure.
The issues therefore go beyond the present publicity surrounding the sudden phantom renovation of Nempi Eastern Primary School.
For critics of the council administration, the said school project may demonstrate that money is being spent on development, but it does not settle the separate questions surrounding the alleged private account, the procedure through which the shop revenue was collected or the authority behind the payment instruction.
In any case, why the sudden and make up renovation project of Eastern Primary School, Nempi, of all the dilapidated primary schools in Oru West LGA?
Why would poor traders and widows of the shop owners be made to cough out a whooping N600,000 under the present economy to the local government council to renovate a primary school, which is the primary obligation of the Council? Is that not enough indictment?
On the other hand, did the project address the previously raised questions concerning the maladministration of Imo ALGON? The reported divisions among its members or the allegations surrounding the protest over the tenure of the local government chairmen and councillors, as well as the NITEL Land grabbing near the Council headquarters.
What about the alleged question of collecting the salaries of his Aides from the Council’s purse and not remitting same to them?
The public interest thus remains on whether these specific questions will be directly addressed rather than being overshadowed by the latest deceitful publicity over the makeshift Nempi Primary School renovation.
Adikibe had earlier denied the allegations against him.
He denied having embezzled funds meant for the council or directing traders to pay the shops fees into a private account or sponsoring a vote of confidence on himself, describing the allegations as baseless.
The APC State Woman Leader, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ejimofor Obi, also acknowledged that a meeting involving the traders was held at her Mgbidi office as Supervisory Councillor, but said she was not aware whether a private account was provided to the traders for payment of the alleged outstanding ₦600,000 shop fee.
The latest focus on the renovation of the Primary School has consequently reopened the debate over whether the central questions surrounding the collection and handling of the shop revenue have actually been answered.
Until those questions are addressed, the controversy remains bigger than the ₦600,000 or the hurried physical work now being showcased at the school.
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