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Enugu Assembly Foils Plot to Divert State Funds

Emmanuel Nzomiwu
19th Sept.'08

Enugu State House of Assembly Committee on Public Accounts and Anti-corruption has foiled a plot by some government officials to divert unspent funds in the 2007 budget, totaling over N20 million.

The committee made the discovery while performing its oversight functions over the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the state government. According to informed sources, such unspent funds yet to be remitted to the state coffers were discovered in the Ministries of Finance and Education and the Post Primary School Management Board, among others.

On Thursday, the chairman of the committee, Anthony Chigbo, ordered the Commissioner for Finance, Sam Chukwuani, to return the N18 million unspent fund in his ministry to the state government. Chigbo who represents Uzo-Uwani Constituency, expressed fears that such funds that are needed by the state government for developmental projects, could be diverted elsewhere if not recovered. He spoke when he led members of his committee to the Ministry of Finance as part of its oversight functions of promoting public accountability and anti-corruption in government business.

'In the course of our oversight function, we discovered N18 million unspent funds for the 2007 budget, lying somewhere in the Ministry of Finance. We want you (commissioner) to recover the money and make sure that all those who concealed it are dealt with,' Chigbo warned.
Chukwuani assured the committee that he would do everything within his powers to ensure that the funds were recovered and remitted to the state government and that all those involved in the concealment are dealt with.

The committee also got similar assurances when it visited the other affected Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the state government where it stumbled on such unspent funds. Meanwhile, Sunday Independent gathered that the committee may extend its activities to the local governments as a result of reported cases of diversion of council funds in Enugu State.

The development had prompted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)to commence a comprehensive probe of the use of funds that accrued to the 17 local government areas of the state from January this year till date.

Operatives of the commission are acting on information provided by the chairman of Awgu Local Government Area, Uche Anioke, who is being investigated on allegations of graft that was levelled against him by his predecessor, Augustine Chukwuobasi. Chukwuobasi had, in a petition to the EFCC, accused Anioke of misappropriating council funds and direct stealing, which he had tried to cover up by commissioning projects executed in Awgu by the past administration.

According to our sources, based on the petition, the commission summoned the council chairman to Abuja and in the course of interrogation, it was discovered that Awgu Local Government Council had not got its share of the excess crude revenue since January. Sunday Independent gathered that 'when EFCC operatives subjected Anioke to further interrogation, he told them that the excess crude revenue to the council was used in executing some partnership projects, between the state government and the 17 councils in the state.'

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