Aliyu, Sani-Bello spat over N1.4bn Minna International Hotel
The former Governor of Niger state, Babaginda Aliyu and the administration of Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello are embroiled in a verbal exchange over the non-completion of the N1.4 billion five- star Minna International Hotel project.
According to the ex-governor, his administration left the N1.4 billion needed to complete the construction of the hotel in an escrow account belonging to the state when it left office and the funds were subsequently, inherited by the current administration in the state.
Aliyu is making the revelation barely three weeks after the he raised the issue of the $181 billion Islamic Development Bank loan which he facilitated for the dualisation of the Minna- Bida Road.
Fielding questions from newsmen on Tuesday, the former governor further maintained that the $181billion was secured during the twilight of his government, adding that the Ñ1.2 billion was left in the escrow account and was meant for the payment of the contractor handling the hotel project when the job had reached a certain level.
“To my surprise, the contractor was invited by this government and given the whole amount and after two months he (contractor) disappeared from site and has not returned to finish the job.
Am I to be held responsible? The government that invited and paid the contractor should be asked to account for the money,” he declared.
Speaking further, Aliyu, who turned 64 years on Tuesday, insisted that he negotiated and secured approval for the $181billion Industrial Development Bank IDB loan, stating that the facility was for the dualisation of the Minna- Bida Road and the construction of a bilingual language centre in Minna.
“I went to Jeddah to negotiate for the loan with some of my officials then, some of them are still part and parcel of this APC government,” Aliyu said asking the incumbent governor to cross -check from those involved.
He told the APC government that “the issue on the ground is not about EFCC or ICPC; let the government come out clean that it has not collected the money.”
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Aliyu faulted the present approach of the government to the Minna- Bida Road dualisation project, saying that the plan by the state government to construct only a certain section of the road and make the rest single lane is unacceptable
“You cannot toll a single lane road; it is morally wrong. Our plan was the dualisation of the road from Kpakungu to Bida and toll it at both ends. The developer was to collect his money in 25 years,” he added.
Though the former governor supported that repair work should be carried out on some failed sections of the road, he nonetheless cautioned the state government against wasting public funds if the entire road will be dualised.
