EFCC Quizzes Delta ALGON Chairman, LEA Scribe, Accountant

ASABA, May 14, (THEWILL) - Delta State Chairman, Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Mr. Askia Ogieh, the Local Education Authority secretary, Mr. Solomon Awenede and the accountant Mr. Edema have been quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for alleged embezzlement of N40 million earmarked for salaries of over 420 sacked teaching and non-teaching staff of the local Education Authority.

Mr. Askia, also the chairman of Isoko South council area who was said to have dismissed the workers was quizzed along with the two others by officials of EFCC attached to the Port-Harcourt; Rivers State office.

The arrest, it was gathered came after several months of investigation.

According to investigations, they were said to have confiscated several months’ salaries of the sacked workers and went ahead to delete other workers names from payment and computer vouchers and replaced same with their favourities.

These allegations, among others, were contained in a petition through their counsel, Mr. Reginald Asiuwhu and dated October 29, 2009 to EFFC in Abuja.

Copies were sent to state Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, Delta state Commissioner of Police, Asaba, Independent and Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) Abuja and the State Universal Basic Education Board, Asaba.

"Our clients has briefed us of the fraudulent activities, official corruption, breach of duties, conversation and stealing of the local Educational Secretary and the Accountant in the Isoko South Local Government and we wish to quickly draw your attention and your well respected office to address these criminality and evil vices truncating, pervading and destroying the organizational structures of our dear State. We have attached herewith our client’s version of the information.

"It is our client information that the Secretary L.E.A. of the Isoko South is engaged in the deletion of staff’s names from that Auditors General Vouchers for the salaries of staff and conversation of validly employed staff salaries and breach of official duties. These he does by personally preparing his own vouchers discarding the State Government vouchers and in the process, he manipulatively and fraudulent convert the salaries of staff” adding that in connivance with the council boss they conducted a screening exercised where-in the names of those staffs that are not their porgies were fraudulently published for termination of their employment.

"This ferocious move was stopped by the State Auditor General who conducted another screening exercise to regularize and reinstate those the Secretary fraudulently terminated their employments. Despite the Auditor intervention, the Secretary has refused and failed to pay up staff salaries and has resorted to more gravious corrupt practices to deprive the beneficiary of the salaries and cause a possible state of unrest and provoking a near breach of the peace in the Local Government. He is clandestinely making moves to completely delete the names of over 427 staff from the State Government voucher to cover up his corrupt practices," the petition said.

However, in a telephone interview, Mr. Asiuwhu alleged that Mr. Askia had allegedly connived with the Local Education Authority secretary, and the accountant to rob his clients off their duly entitlements.

Mr. Asiuwhu also alleged that since his clients were illegally dismissed from service their salaries were still been illegally diverted into private pockets as a result they had no option than to petition the EFCC where the LEA scribe, the council boss and the accountant were questioned.

When contacted, EFCC spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi confirmed that the ALGON boss "was quizzed about three weeks ago and later granted bail."

But the state ALGON boss, Mr. Ogieh debunked all the allegations saying he was never quizzed by the commission.

It would be recalled that some time 2008, the sacked workers had petitioned the council boss, Mr. Askia, the LEA scribe, Mr. Awenede to the state governor over several allegations of highhandedness and gross abuse of office as well as fraudulent practices.