Alleged Diversion Of N16.5bn, Attempt To Tarnish My Image – Minister

Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, said the alleged diversion of funds for the reconstruction of Namnai Bridge in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, was a deliberate attempt to tarnish his image.

The minister, who was reacting to allegations levelled against him by a Taraba-based activist, Abdulmumin Imam, who accused him of diverting N16.5 billion meant to fix the collapsed Namnai Bridge.

He spoke through his counsel, Dr Ibrahim EFfiong, to selected journalists in Jalingo, when he dragged the activist to a magistrate’s court.

He called on the activist to come clean before the court and defend his claim of diverting the said fund.

Abdulmumin Imam had posted on Facebook that, “the minister, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, rushed to the minister of Works, Dave Umahi. He lobbied and pleaded with the minister to divert the N16.5 billion meant for the Namnai Bridge reconstruction that was approved by Mr President to a non-emergency concrete pavement project on the Namnai-Jalingo access road while pushing for NEDC to take over the Namnai Bridge project.”

The allegation, which was reported in Sahara Reporters, said that if the project had not been hijacked as alleged by Uba Maigari Ahmad, the 10 PIERS (the deep foundation pillars that carry the bridge) would have been standing today.

The activist, on his Facebook handle, and reported in Sahara Reporters, allegedly raised “an alarm alleging that the minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, secretly procured a security order directing the Police, DSS and Civil Defence to arrest him over his criticism of government inaction on the collapsed Namnai Bridge.”