PDP: KPMG conducted process review, not forensic audit on Abia funds

The Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says KPMG International Limited didn’t conduct a forensic audit on the state’s financial records.

The Abia PDP said KPMG only conducted a process review which showed that immediate past Governor Okezie Ikpeazu left N3.4 billion in the government coffers.

The party said this in a statement issued by its Vice Chairman/Acting State Publicity Secretary, Abraham Amah, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.

Amah noted: “It is evident to discerning minds that KPMG stated very clearly that it did not conduct an audit, much less, forensic. Transparency and accountability are fundamental principles that underpin good governance and public confidence in the audit process.

“Unfortunately, the operatives of Alex Otti’s government have continued to anchor their indictment on the N10 billion payment which Ferotex, the same contractor Alex Otti is still using, made to 32 other contractors. Thankfully, the operatives of the former government have offered explanations to that and so Alex Otti has nothing to say again.

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“Like a drowning man who is looking for even a straw to hold onto, Alex Otti keeps making reference to the N10 billion which he cannot prove.

“The refusal to allow independent scrutiny of the report suggests a lack of commitment to upholding professional standards and ethical guidelines and PDP demands that Alex Otti make public the cost of the financial process review.

“Fortuitously, the process review report indicated that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu left N3.4 billion in the coffers of the State, contrary to dubious claims by Alex Otti that he met an empty treasury on assumption of office.

“It is clear to Abians who has been lying to them, between Alex Otti and Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.”

The Abia PDP spokesman, however, called on Governor Otti to render a public apology to Ikpeazu for “smearing his name, especially in an international arena, to Abians for misleading and lying to them serially that a forensic audit was conducted with their funds when it was a mere financial process review meant to improve the efficiency of government operations.”

“We also call on the good and well-meaning people of Abia State to disregard Alex Otti’s recourse to hate and witch hunt and demand from him the good governance which he consistently promised Abians in over eight years as an opposition figure. Governance should be placed above politics for it to make sense,” he added.

The Star