Ebonyi Govt, PDP Squabble Over Alleged N6.7bn Fund

There is accusation and counter accusation from the Ebonyi State Government and the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, over alleged withdrawal of the sum of N6 billion from nine commercial banks to bankroll Umahi’s legal battle.

Whereas the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ebonyi State chapter, have accused the State Governor, David Umahi, of withdrawing from the said sum from the state treasury, following the High Court judgement which sacked him from office.

The PDP, in a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a copy of which was circulated online,  claimed the governor has withdrawn over N6 billion in the past week.

The petition was signed by a Lawyer, Nkemakolam Okoro of Dynamic Option Chambers, who claimed to be a lawyer to Ebonyi state chapter of the PDP.

The Lawyer in the petition claimed that the said monies, allegedly withdrawn by the governor is to fund his appeal of the court decision, which sacked him from office.

According to the Lawyer, the money is to be allegedly used to pay the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), who the governor has hired to appeal the matter.

They further alleged that the funds were withdrawn from the state’s accounts, domiciled in about nine commercial banks within a space of one week

The PDP therefore urged the EFCC to stop the governor from further looting of the state’s treasury.
However, Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, has denied the allegations contained in the petition.

Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Uchenna Orji in a statement, described the allegations contained in the petition as irresponsibly false and unfounded, cruel and malicious.

He said:”The entirety of the content of the trending petition addressed to EFCC is absolutely and irresponsibly false, malicious and nothing but a serial of the politically calculated attempt by PDP and desperados to damage the hard-earned reputation of the Governor and the integrity of the State Government.

Mr Orji further claimed that the petitioners want to use the allegations “to attack the credibility of the outcome of the dispensations of all institutions involved in ensuring that justice is done in all the legal actions framed up by PDP to distract the ever performing administration of Governor Umahi, especially to cause him distractions in his intention to run for the Presidency come 2023.”

Mr Orji while vehemently debunking the allegations, warned that the state government will commence legal proceedings against the petitioners for defamation against the governor and the state government.

While noting that the state government’s expenditures is in the public domain, Mr Orji described the governor as a prudent manager of the state’s resources

He said: “We rebuke the allegations of ‘looting of Ebonyi State Government’s money’ made by the People’s Democratic  Party (PDP), against our transparent administration as a satanic blackmail that has no iota of truth, desperately calculated to attract the attention of the gullible and sully the reputation of the Governor of the State and which we shall not hesitate in invoking legal actions to bring the petitioners to justice.”

“Ebonyi State Government’s expenditure is in the public domain, and there is no doubt that Governor Umahi’s administration has been adjudged to be one of the most transparent, judiciously prudent and corrupt-free administrations in Nigeria”, he added.

Mr Orji said the state government has asked the state House of Assembly to waive its immunity and invite the EFCC to within 30 days, investigate all the issues in the allegations contained in the petition by PDP and any other allegation of financial impropriety raised by them.

He also urged the anti-graft agency to take necessary sanctions against the petitioners for false and fake information if their allegations are not established.

He also urged the public to disregard the allegations by the PDP, which he described as a series of lies from the forces who are intimidated by the rising and acceptable performance credentials of Governor Umahi.