These may not be the best of times for the Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, arrested three top officials of the state over alleged diversion of N2 billion bailout fund. In the wake of the harsh economic realities, occasioned by sharp drop in the federation account, the Federal Government had, sometime in September, 2015, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to release the sum of N338 billion bailout package, to states that could not pay workers’ salaries.
Though, Imo was among the 27 states that benefited from the bailout package, civil servants had threatened severally to down tools over unpaid salaries. However, the EFCC, in a statement signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said it has arrested the Principal Secretary to Okorocha, Dr. Obi Paschal Chigozie; Director of Finance, Uzoho Casmir, as well as the Treasurer, Iheoma Kenneth, for diverting bailout fund of the state.
The anti-graft agency said investigation into the alleged diversion of N2 billion revealed that “the cashier had made cash withdrawal of N456.532 million between September 3, 2015 and October 10, 2015 from the Government House account domiciled in Zenith Bank.” The anti-graft agency further noted that “the said amount was given to an aide of the Chief of Staff to the governor, following approval and directive by the Principal Secretary to the Governor.”
“Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 arrested three top officials of Imo State government for allegedly diverting the sum of N2 billion bailout fund given to the state by the Federal Government for payment of salary arrears of the state’s civil servants,” the anti-graft agency stated.
The statement said the suspects would be charged to court once investigations were concluded. Okorocha had lamented that the bailout had put the state in a mess.
He said: “The N26 billion bailout we took from the Federal Government, which we used to pay agitating workers have put Imo in trouble as more money is being deducted from our allocations.” In spite of the bailout, Imo workers are presently being owed two months of unpaid salaries with pensioners being owed between 8 to 20 months arrears of pension depending on ministry or parastatal.
The worst hit is the primary school teachers who are presently owed more than 20 months in pension arrears. Commenting, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former spokesman of the party said that the arrest was long overdue but was better late than never. He commended the EFCC for finally rising up to the occasion.
Said he, “As stakeholders, the only thing we heard Okorocha did immediately he accessed the bailout was to travel to Turkey with over 100 persons and immediately he returned he started talking about paucity of fund. Sincerely, the bailout is a minuscule of the funding that has come to Imo State which are not traceable anywhere. “For the last three years, there have been no local government administration in the state yet the governor takes delivery of council allocations.
What has happened to that money, the ecological fund and Sure-P fund to the state? “Anyway, for anyone that knows Okorocha’s Principal Secretary, he would know that he has been swimming in murky waters for too long. We enjoin EFCC to get to the root of the systematic plundering of Imo State.” Contacted also, the Commissioner for Information, Chief Chidi Ibe, dismissed the arrest of the functionaries, saying it was mere rumour fabricated by enemies of the government.
“As I am talking to you, the PS is in the Government House. This is part of the evil wishes of the opposition and as usual it will come to nothing,” Ibe.
The Principal Secretary, Paschal Obi, was appointed to the position shortly after Okorocha was elected governor. He was drafted from the Ministry of Health where he was the Deputy Director for Optical Services.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Debt Management Office (DMO) designed the bailout package while Deposit Money Banks released the fund.
The states that have accessed the bailout are: Abia (N14.15bn), Kwara (N4.32bn), Zamfara (N10.02bn), Osun (N34.98bn), Niger (N4.31bn), Bauchi (N8.6bn), Gombe (N16.46bn), Adamawa (N2.38bn), Ondo (N14.69bn) and Kebbi (N690m). Others are Ekiti (N9.6bn), Enugu (N4.207bn), Imo (N26.8bn), Ebonyi (N4.1bn), Plateau (N5.4bn), Nasarawa (N8.3bn), Sokoto (N10.1bn), Edo (N3.2bn), and Ogun (N18.9bn).
The loan is repayable at an interest rate of nine per cent over a 20-year period and it is solely for the purpose of paying the backlog of salaries. The approval of the special intervention fund was sequel to the decision by the National Economic Council (NEC) at its meeting of June 29, 2015.
The conditions for accessing the facility include resolutions of the respective state executive councils authorising the borrowing and the state houses of assembly consenting to the loans, as well as issuance of Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders to ensure timely repayment at source from the states’ Federation Account allocations.
The release of the N338 billion bailout fund followed the restructuring of the state governments’ debts into bonds by the DMO at an interest rate of 14.83 per cent of the value.
