Chime, Enugu House Rift EscalatesAs Lawmakers Invite EFCC To Probe State Education Board

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Thursday, April 23rd, 2015

From Ignatius Okpara, Enugu – The ongoing political rift between governor Sullivan Chime, and members of the state House of Assembly Thursday took a new twist, as the lawmakers, resolved to invite the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to investigate the alleged financial recklessness of chairman of Enugu state Universal Basic Education Board, ENSUBEB, Mrs. Nneka Onuorah.

Aside the anti graft agency invitation, the House also passed a resolution to freeze the accounts of the board in two new generation banks, pending on completion of investigation of the financial scam.

African Examiner reports that the legislators had been at logger head with Chime, over the non release of its March and April, 2015 statutory overhead.

It would also be recalled that as a way of ventilating their anger on the governor, the lawmakers, had fortnight ago, issued a bench warrant on the state Accountant General (AG) Pascal Okolie, on the overhead issue.

Deliberating on a petition forwarded to its House committee on education by two board members of ENSUBEB, on the alleged financial misconduct against Mrs Onuorah, read during its plenary, the House,posited that the allegations were too weighty to be ignored.

The two page petition,”entitled Administrative, And Financial Recklessness of the Executive Chairman of ENSUBEB” was signed by professor Ikenna Chukwu, permanent member 1 and Dr. T.E. Ayogu, permanent member (IV).

They had accused the chairman of not running the organisation, in line with the extant rules and regulations of the establishment.

The petition read: “First, the Executive chairman, awarded contracts for the construction and renovation of schools without the approval of the board”

“She awarded contract for the construction of seats, tables for primary school pupils and teachers at the cost of 199 million naira without the approval of the board.

“It might interest you to know that not all the seats, tables chairs have been supplied, but the total contract sums has been paid to the contractor”

The petition, read on the floor of the house by the Education committee chairman, Nze Michael Onyeze, representing Igbo Eze North 1 constituency,equally accused the ENSUBEB boss,of computerising the teachers biodata at the cost of 10 million,which she inflated to14 million without recourse to the board, among other administrative misconduct.

After various submissions by members, speaker of the House, Eugene Odoh, who also frowned at the ongoing mess at the government agency, put the resolution of inviting EFCC to vote, and it was unanimously supported by the lawmakers.

Similarly, the issue of freezing its account pending on the completion of investigation, was also overwhelmly endorsed by the members.

The House, equally resolved to communicate the Universal Basic Education Board UBEC, to henceforth stop dealing with Mrs Onuorah, until the probe of the organization is done.