Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, has asked the Auditor General for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, to recover the N19.63 billion allegedly siphoned from the State-Local Government Joint Accounts Allocation Committee (JAAC), through the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs (BLGCA), by the immediate-past government of Chief Emeka Ihedioha.
The allegation has been denied by the former governor.
Daily Trust reports that Ihedioha was sacked by the Supreme Court on January 14 as the governor of Imo State, just as it declared Hope Uzodinma as the duly elected governor of the state in the March 9, 2019 election.
Our correspondent gathered that the governor’s order followed a request from the Auditor General after an audit of JAAC during the 7-month administration of Ihedioha.
Speaking at a press conference in Owerri, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, said the N19.63 billion misappropriated funds was discovered during a routine audit of the Accounts and Records of JAAC with the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs by the Local Government Auditor-General for the fiscal year ended 31/12/2019.
The Commissioner said the government’s action was in line with the new Imo Agenda to entrench a resilient and transparent public service and restore financial discipline and rule of law premised on extant laws pertaining to the Custody, Management and Appropriation of Public Funds.
According to the Commissioner, JAAC was set up by law and disbursements of LGAs Funds are guided by Model Financial Memorandum and other extant laws on custody, and management and audit of the said entity.
He regretted that the money was illegally withdrawn from the JAAC account without any Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or Stores Receipt Vouchers (S.R.V.) or Stores Issue Vouchers (S.I.V.) in accordance with extant laws.
The Commissioner said, “Some of the agents used by Ihedioha’s government to siphon the billions of Naira include: The Managing Director of Wall House Ltd., a crony of the sacked governor, who was paid N1.215 billion for supply of construction equipment without any document, which he didn’t supply.
“There was also an unconscionable mandatory withdrawal of N2.405 Billion by the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs (BLGCA)
“Others are payment of N9.378 billion to Local Government councils for an undisclosed purpose. Also, Anyama and co. received N245 Million for no disclosed purpose.
“Other fictitious and fraudulent withdrawals include compulsory returns or kick- backs from Local Government Councils to the BLGCA to the tune of N2.404Billion. This was deducted from the allocated funds of the LGAs.
“Payment of N245 million to Raphael Anyama & Co. (Chartered Accountants) from Rural Roads Account without payment vouchers or approvals. Payments made through the banks without payment vouchers or evidence of expenditure to the tune of N3.332 billion.
“Curious phenomenon was where N25million was paid twice to the Principal Secretary to the governor in December 2019 as security vote, whereas such funds are not paid from JAAC accounts but from state funds.
“The state government is shocked and embarrassed that within just seven months; a government could perpetrate such quantum of fraud by an unconscionable abuse of public trust through the use of public funds for self-serving purposes.
“Consequently the government has approved the request of the Auditor-General for Local Government to enforce his recovery order on the Permanent Secretary, BLGCA and others indicted as agents used by the Ihedioha’s government to siphon the N19.63billion.”
The commissioner said that the state government has immediately ordered the reshuffling of DAGs and Treasurers.
Ihedioha’s reaction
In his reaction, the Special Adviser, Bureau of local government and Chieftaincy Affairs under Ihedioha, Mayor Eze, described the allegation as full of falsehood.
He added, “There was nothing like payment of N9. 378 billion to Local government councils for an undisclosed purpose. If such funds were paid into local government councils, that’s a bonus. But who paid that and from where?
Also the General Manager of one of the companies mentioned in the deal, Wallhouse (WA) Limited, Barrister Martin Agba said that the company was paid N945,000,000.00 in partial fulfilment of the contract obligation and had supplied 17 out of the 27 payloaders and graders to the present administration, which was received by officials of Uzodinma-led government.
He said that the remaining 10 are presently at Lagos port and could not be delivered because of the present lockdown.
Firm denies receiving N245m from Ihedioha
Raphael Anyama & Co Chartered Accountants on their part denied receiving any money from the immediate past administration of Emeka Ihedioha for the execution of any contract.
In a statement signed by the Chairman, Raphael Anyama, the company said that it did not benefit from the alleged missing N19.63 billion local government fund, which an investigative committee had asked the Hope Uzodimma administration to recover from his predecessor.
The statement said,”Whereas it is not compulsory that we must react to this false publication, we find it necessary to inform the general public, particularly our Friends and Associates, that the publication is false”.
The company denied ever entering into any contractual or financial dealings with Imo State Government involving payments as claimed.
This report was updated on 21st April 2020 to reflect Raphael Anyama & Co reaction.
