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Former president-general of Ofekatta III Autonomous Community in Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State, Victor Nwakamma, has denied allegations that he was responsible for the stalled construction and non-handover of the community hall, blaming Antan Producing Limited, formerly Addax Petroleum Development Company, for the delay.
Nwakamma, who is also chief executive officer of Fabeliz and Bob Nigeria Limited, said the project stalled after the oil company allegedly failed to fully meet its contractual obligations and later requested additional work outside the original agreement without agreeing to pay the additional cost.
He spoke at a meeting of community leaders and stakeholders in Owerri at the weekend, where he presented documents and his account of the circumstances surrounding the abandoned project.
According to him, the dispute began after officials of Addax/Antan inspected the project site and discovered that it was vulnerable to erosion.
He said the company subsequently recommended that the damp-proof course (DPC) be raised to a higher level to protect the building, although the work was not contained in the original contract.
Nwakamma said he accepted the recommendation as a gentleman’s agreement and proceeded with the additional construction work, which he claimed cost him about N2.5 million.
He alleged, however, that the company later failed to settle the additional cost or convene a meeting with stakeholders to resolve the disagreement and ensure completion of the project.
He said the controversy had wrongly portrayed him as responsible for the stalled project, despite several attempts to bring the community, the company and other stakeholders together to resolve the matter.
Nwakamma said: “This was for us to have a meeting to resolve this issue and stop the rumour going around that Victor Nwakamma is the problem holding down the community hall, but all efforts I made were to no avail.”
He also challenged Antan to produce documents showing that he had signed an agreement confirming completion of the original contract, following allegations that the project had been completed.
According to him, the company later contacted him by email, about three years after the additional work, asking him to return to site and complete the project, with an assurance of another contract.
Nwakamma said he rejected the request because the cost of building materials had risen sharply and the COVID-19 pandemic had further altered the economic situation.
He demanded payment for the additional work already executed before returning to the site, saying the company had yet to meet the demand.
Nwakamma further alleged that efforts to convene a meeting with Antan officials had repeatedly failed.
He said a recent meeting was also disrupted after the company’s officials reportedly insisted that it could only attend if the venue was moved to Izombe, which he said was considered unsafe at the time.
The former community leader said the controversy had continued since 2018, adding that he had repeatedly engaged former presidents-general, traditional rulers, youth leaders and other stakeholders in an attempt to resolve the matter.
Reacting to the presentation, a community leader representing the traditional ruler of Ofekatta III Autonomous Community, Awo-Omamma, High Chief Everistus Nnawugo, said Antan Producing Limited had earlier written to the traditional ruler, Eze Stanley Onyedebele, asking Nwakamma to appear with his documents while the company would also present its own records for examination.
The community’s youth leader, Tony-Martins Igwegbe, also said Nwakamma should not be blamed for the delay in completing the project.
He maintained that the dispute arose from the actions and obligations of Addax/Antan Oil and urged community members to consider the facts before apportioning blame.
