APC demands probe of missing A’Ibom LG funds

The All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State has called for a probe of the Akwa Ibom State Government over the missing N950m local government funds from June 2015.

The Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Mr. Ita Awak, said the call became necessary following  Governor Udom Emmanuel’s confession that he never tampered with the LG funds since he became governor.

Udom, who spoke during a Channels Television programme,  Sunrise Daily, to commemorate his first anniversary in office, also exonerated his predecessor, Senator Godswill Akpabio, from the allegation of tampering with LG funds during his tenure as governor.

Awak, who spoke on Monday during a Planet Radio programme, Team Nigeria, described Emmanuel’s claim “as a big lie that emanated from a man with the toga of a deacon.”

He insisted that the facts on the ground in the state indicated that monies meant for the local governments were diverted.

He explained that the figures published by the Ministry of Finance and also facts coming from the Federation Account Allocation Committee showed that from June 2015 when Emmanuel came in as governor, each council received an average of N80m monthly.

Awak said, “The governor’s claim  that he has never touched local government funds is a big lie,  a lie you can easily see through. As far as Akwa Ibom State is concerned, the last time I checked, since June last year, every LG, on the average, received N80m monthly from the Federation Account. Do your simple arithmetic. That translates to about N960m per local government.

“Every LG in Akwa Ibom State, from June last year, received an average of N960m a year. But go to all the local government councils, they are overgrown with weeds which indicate that the money for the upkeep of the council premises has not reached them. It simply means the money is not reaching them or people at the Joint Accounts have hijacked it.”

He urged Akwa Ibom people to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to the state to probe the alleged diversion of LG funds.

Awak commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts to recover over N3.7trn stolen from the treasury.

He asked Governor Emmanuel to try just one tenth of what Buhari was doing by setting machinery in motion to recover the over N2.8tr allegedly stolen from the coffers of the Akwa Ibom State Government from 2007 to 2015.

He insisted that the governor, apart from wearing the revered title of a deacon, owed Akwa Ibom people a duty to also recover the funds looted from the state treasury as well as declare the debt profile of the state.

Awak noted that the governor inherited a huge debt profile from Akpabio, which necessitated his frequent resort to obtaining loans since he came on board.

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