Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has received the final report of the Abia State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the Recovery of Government Properties, Funds, and related matters, declaring that the Panel was not set up for vendetta or witch-hunting anyone.

He vowed that his administration would take the Panel’s report seriously.

Otti, who received the report from the Chairman of the Panel, Justice Florence Duruoha-Igwe (Rtd) on Tuesday, explained that a lot of people who raised concern about the Panel were given the opportunity to be heard when the period of the Panel was extended.

“But then, a lot of people had a lot of concerns, which we felt that in a democracy, they needed to be heard. And those concerns needed to be investigated,” he said.

To confirm his administration’s seriousness about the Panel’s report, Otti assured that already, a committee on the White Paper production had been constituted and the report would be given to them for it to become an instrument.

He thanked the Chairman and members of the panel for the hard work that they did in the past two years and a few months, saying that the government did not anticipate that the panel would take much time.

Speaking earlier, Justice Florence Duruoha-Igwe (Rtd) explained that, out of the 350 petitions and memoranda received, the panel was able to hear, conclude and submit its report on 278.

Justice Duruoha-Igwe informed the Governor that the report was in 2 volumes: an addendum to the main report and an addendum to the proceedings and thanked the Governor for the opportunity to serve the State.

It would be recalled that some property, including vehicles, were recovered from some individuals by the Panel, while several revelations and denials were tendered.

Otti receives Judicial Panel of Inquiry report, vows implementation