Alleged $12m Fraud: Uzodinma Risks Arrest over Failure to Appear before Panel

Embattled Senator representing Imo West senatorial district and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 governorship election in Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, risked being arrested by the Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property.

This is due to his failure to appear before the panel investigating him over allegations of $12million contract scam.

The panel had last Sunday arrested him on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport over his failure to present himself for interrogation in the $12million contract for the dredging of the Calabar channel.

The panel later admitted Uzodinma to administrative bail and asked him to return the following day for interrogation.

However, the Senator pleaded with the panel to allow him to come on Tuesday so as to attend to his health.

Again Uzodinma failed to appear before the panel last Tuesday after rescheduling the time from 3p.m. to 8p.m. Operatives of the panel assigned to investigate him waited till 9.30p.m. before calling it a day.

However, it was learnt that Uzodinma, who later called in to explain why he could not make it on Tuesday evening, promised to present himself again on Wednesday by 11a.m.

But as at the time of filing this report, the senator was yet to make himself available.

As at Tuesday night, the panel had concluded plans to lay siege at his Maitama residence in Abuja, with the aim of arresting him to their office to answer to the fraud allegations.

Reacting to the development, Chairman of the panel, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, confirmed that Uzodinma was yet to report, and that he had overstretched the panel.

"We have been looking for this man since December 2017. We have sent numerous letters to him. We even went to his house in February and pasted our assets declaration form, because that is the first stage of our investigation.

"By law, he has 30 days to fill and return, he did not do that. We charged him to court. He has overstretched us," he said.

According to the chairman, the move to investigate the senator has nothing to do with him contesting election, adding: "We have to do our job. Nobody is above the law.

"Why is he running away over an allegation that he collected over N5 billion to do a project in Calabar," he asked, adding that "tomorrow, they will turn round to say Buhari is responsible for the backwardness of South-south and South-east region.