Prosecute Benue APC Guber Candidate Over Alleged Fraud, NGIJ Urges EFCC, FG

The integrity of the President Muhammadu Buhari led All Progressive Congress, APC government has been doubted again as some political analysts wonder why it is impossible to probe allegations of scandal, budget padding and inflation level against some of his appointees.

Eleven months after Senate uncovered N205m fraud in Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA, EFCC and the Federal Government still allow the case to be floored under the carpet notwithstanding the Senate Committee’s report that the Defense of the agency Managing Director, Emmanuel Jime is not Convincing enough.

Solanke Ayodeji, Secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists, NGIJ in a chat stated that sustaining the Appointment of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, Emmanuel Jime, as well as fielding him as the the Governorship candidate of the APC in Benue state, after the Senate Committee on trade and Investment, headed by senator Sabo Mohammed discovered a huge fraud of over N205 Million in the 2018 budget of Nigeria NEPZA is tantamount to a high degree of corruption.

The discovery of the said fraud was uncovered when Jime and other top officials appeared before the committee for their 2018 budget defense.

A member of the committee, Senator Usman Bayero Nafada chides the management of the agency on the request for N638million for personnel cost in their 2017 budget out of which N505million has been used for salary payment up to November 2017.

Nafada noted that based on the N505million already used by the agency to pay salaries of its workers up to November, only N11million was needed for December salary and not the balance of N133million.

The Gombe North Senator drew the attention of the members of the committee to a proposal made by the agency to hike its personnel cost in the 2018 budget to N710million.

He noted that if NEPZA in 2017 had excess of about N122million on personnel cost out of the N638million, “why request for N710 million in 2018 which if approved, would result in surplus of N205millio.”

Nafada added, “This is unacceptable and should not be allowed to scale through by this committee.”

Chairman of the committee, Senator Sabo Mohammed asked NEPZA MD to explain the surplus.

Jime could not convince the senators with his explanations that the surplus was due on promotion arrears.

He also blamed the surplus on the office of the Accountant General of the Federation saying “The surplus was not created by us but rather what was approved for us by the AGF office.”

The committee faulted his argument by telling him that the AGF office works on projections and approvals forwarded to it as far as personnel cost is concerned .

The committee resolved to limit the personnel cost of the agency for the 2018 to N516m.

While media houses reported this fraud in details such as Nation newspapers of December 19, 2017, Peoples Daily Newspapers and DailyPost Online platform narrated how the c Jime orchestrated to divert N205 Million naira under the guise of staff salaries, yet neither the federal government nor the EFCC take action on nthe discovery of the Senate. The situation which was tagged as “a deliberate attempt to abhor corruption”

While it behooves on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to wade in to this matter and prosecute those behind the alleged fraud, the commission under Magu has rather kept mute since this fraud was uncovered by the senate last year.

NGIJ hereby calls on the anti-graft agency to quickly correct thye impression that the agency is being one sided in its fight against corruption. The Guild scribe who also doubles as the Publisher of AMEBO News, www.amebo9jafeed.com.ng noted that “corruption will not cease to exist in the country if the war against graft is fought with one bias”