The Imo State House of Assembly has commenced investigation of the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Jude Agbaso, who is alleged to have solicited N458 million bribe from a road contractor.

Briefing journalists in his office at the Assembly complex in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the Speaker, Mr. Ben Uwajimogu said the investigation was instigated by a temporary report submitted by an ad-hoc committee verifying the award of road contracts in the local government areas as well as the municipals.

The Speaker claimed that during the verification exercise, a contractor handling some major road contracts in the state confessed to the ad-hoc committee that the deputy governor, who at the point of awarding the contract also doubled as the Commissioner for Works, demanded the sum of N458 million from him as gratification, with the promise of giving him more jobs.

The deputy governor has denied all the allegations, insisting that he never had any dealings with the said contractor.

The Speaker, however, maintained that investigations are still on-going by the ad-hoc committee, adding that the Assembly will get to the root of the matter.