Alleged Diversion of N1bn: Ebonyi Indigenes Demand Sack of SSG

AdedayoAkinwale in Abuja

The Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural in the Diaspora (AEISCID) has demanded the immediate sack of the Secretary to the Ebonyi State Government (SSG), Prof. Grace Umezuruike, following a reported court order ordering the interim forfeiture of alleged N1 billion diverted by the SSG.

At the weekend, anUyo Division of the Federal High Court had ordered interim forfeiture of over N1 billion allegedly diverted by Umezurike, and her aide, NgeneOnyeabor.

The judge, Maureen Onyetenu, granted the forfeiture order on 8 July, according to a court document obtained by a national newspaper. The court order followed an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

However, reacting to the development, the group wondered how such humongous corrupt practice happened in a state like Ebonyi where “abject poverty walks on the streets stark naked.”

In a statement issued Tuesday by its President, Amb. Pascal Oluchukwu, the group said it took a social critic, Nwoba Chika Nwoba to petition the anti-graft agency before it acted and froze the said accounts with an order to conduct discreet investigations into the matter.

To this end, the group gave Governor Francis Nwifuru 48 hours ultimatum to immediately drop his SSG within for a thorough, discreet and unhindered probe by the anti-graft agency.

It noted: “Cases of corruption have been more prevalent in the current leadership of the state under Governor Nwifuru – arguably more than all the past administrations since the return of democracy combined.

“We ask: What else does the governor who claims to be a lawyer need to understand that once a prima facie case has been established leading to the freezing of the said accounts by the anti-graft agency for a possible forfeiture of the diverted funds to the federal government, the SSG should have been asked to step aside immediately?

“This is a common ethical and standard practice that is well in accordance with the principles of transparency, accountability and probity in governance which would ensure that all allegations are substantiated without let or hindrance using the privileges and rights of powerful office she occupies and connections of some powerful people in government.

“We are thoroughly ashamed of the disposition of the state government towards this grave allegation that has very severe and negative consequences for the state and Ebonyians – at home and in the diaspora.

“This is why we ask Governor Nwifuru to immediately drop his SSG within 48 hours for a thorough, discreet and unhindered probe by the anti-graft agency.

“We further admonish the government to show cause by entering to be joined as a party in the suit before the Federal High Court so that in any event the loot is proven to be that of the state, the government can easily reclaim the funds and deploy same for the benefit of the common masses.

“Already, apart from the pervasive poverty biting the common Ebonyians that one could literally cut through with a knife, there are many projects started by this administration which are yet to receive the needed attention obviously due to the same grand-scale corruption that has been the order of the day that the said money can effectively be ploughed back into.”

The group, however, called on the EFCC to widen its nets to help Ebonyi people recover loots allegedly diverted by contractors within the last two years of the present administration and the past eight years of Umahi-led administration.