Ebonyi State government has exonerated itself in the circumstances leading to the missing of five NELAN workers in the State.
The government said the information dished out to the public by Mrs. Nelson Onyeme, wife of one of the missing five NELAN firm workers handling a section of the Abakaliki ring road project being constructed by African Development Bank was false.
The Engineers were abducted along Effium axis of Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State on November 3, 2021. Effium community has been embroiled in communal clash since January, 22, 2021.
Briefing Journalists in Abakaliki, the State Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Barrister Uchenna Orji, said Mrs. Onyeme might have spoken out of emotions, but the State government strongly believed that some “politicians have also taken advantage of her state of mind, otherwise there were things that she said against the State Government that were unnecessarily misleading. We therefore cannot join issues with her.”
Orji further noted that the claims by Engr. Benjamin Nzeagwu as contained in the recent interview he granted Arise TV were full of lies and a total complete misrepresentation of facts.
He said, “For the records, Ebonyi State Government and the personnel executing the contract job were never contacted or informed about the coming of the officials of NELAN Consulting firm on the fateful day. The State Government had a meeting with all Companies/ Contractors involved in the Abakaliki Ring Road Project over the security situation in a few points within the project locations.
NELAN Consulting firm is merely a supervising firm whose job supervision commitment was going to be 8 days per month in the whole of 24 months project duration. The resident Engineer and main contractor being supervised by NELAN Consulting firm has never shown presence till this moment. All we gathered from Security report after the ugly incident was that it was the contractor, Marco Nigeria Ltd that had contacted Mr. Nelson Onyeme to go to site.
“Furthermore, the immediate report from the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area where the job is situated and the statement volunteered to the Police by the representative of Marco Nigeria Limited indicated that they all agreed to meet at Ohaukwu Local Government Police Headquarters so as to get the Police personnel to go with them to the site. But the NELAN Officials did not avail.
“Let it further be noted that Ebonyi State Government presided over by the Governor had diligently met with all the contractors, consultants and stakeholders from the project locations especially the flash points where it was agreed that before any contractor moves to project site, that the community leaders, traditional rulers, town union presidents together with government officials from such area must swear affidavit committing to the protection of the contractors and consultants. This commitment was consummated in the first section of the project site where the other consulting firm is supervising.
“It will be reiterated that the contractors for the project site to be supervised by NELAN Consulting firm have not even mobilized to site. The contractors merely got their award letters and this buttresses the fact that the allegation that the NELAN team was coming in and going out of the project site and there was no crisis is a figment of the imagination of Mr. Benjamin more so as the period he was referring to was before the Effium communal crisis which started on January, 22nd 2021.
“The facts are therefore inviolately correct that it was agreed amongst themselves that the main contractor, Marco Limited and the Consultant, Nelson Onyeme together with the Divisional Police Officer-in-charge of the Division would get the Police personnel to accompany them to the site. But for reasons best known to Mr. Nelson Onyeme, he chose not to pass through the Police Headquarters and the Local Government Council but rather went through a flash point from Nwezenyi axis and thus ran into the hot spot of the communal crisis where, according the Police Investigation report, they were abducted.
“While it is not our duty to reel out the full details of the Police report, the essence of this narrative is to put the records straight and correct the impressions that may have been created by the misleading information shared in some quarters by mischief makers. It is therefore most unfortunate that people can politicize a very sensitively horrible situation such as this.
“It is heartbreaking and reprehensible that instead of dissipating energies and resources in pursuing the cause of justice for the victims, the likes of Mr. Benjamin chose to divert attention by investing resources in media platforms to twist the matter for his personal aggrandizement. They even accused a sitting Governor of having interest in one of the project vehicles. What an insult! The project vehicle was purchased with the resources of Ebonyi State and not even the resources of Africa Development Bank or that of the Consultant.
“For our contractual relations with NELAN Consulting firm, we would allow some weeks for them to still sort their contractual problems out and go back to site. It is important that the issues be sorted out on time and they should find a way to replace the Resident Engineer, (though not among the missing Engineers) who is key person from NELAN Consulting firm who is not yet on the job.”
