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Imo Finances: Why Ihedioha must probe Okorocha — Intersociety
BY: Ikenna Oluka
Foremost pro-democracy and civil rights group, the Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety), on Wednesday demanded a probe of the financial dealings of the out-going administration of Rocahs Okorocha by the incoming one of Emeka Ihedioha.
The demand is contained in a statement issued in Onitsha by Intersociety, in which it claimed that Imo finances are currently “in a mess” and need to be cleaned up. The statement was signed by Intesociety Chair Emeka Umeagbalasi; Head, Democracy & Good Governance Programme, Chinwe Umeche, Esq.; and Head, Campaign & Publicity Department, Chidinma Udegbunam, Esq.
It reads in part: “Assuming the Governor-Elect of Imo State, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, truly wishes to govern the People of Imo State purposefully and constructively, his Administration must start with holistic investigation and cleaning of the mess in the finances of Imo State. Going by several advocacy investigations carried out by Intersociety in recent times on the state of the finances of the States in the Southeast Nigeria, the past and outgoing Governments of Imo State have consecutively run huge budget deficits over the years. This is despite several “external funds interventions” such as “Paris Club refunds”, “Federal Government credit or soft loan facilities” and “international financial/development assistance”.
“This is more so when Government borrowings are easily determined by the amount of its annual deficit budgets or a situation where such Government’s projected annual IGR, Federal allocations, cornered LGA allocations and zero borrowings or financial assistance are doubly overtaken by its projected annual budget (recurrent: overheads and personnel costs and capital budget).
“For instance, if a Government such as the outgoing Government of Imo State budgets, say, N150b as its total annual budget, out of which N90B is expected from IGR, Federal allocations, cornered LGA allocations and other zero borrowings or financial assistance; it simply means that the same Government will unstoppably borrow N60B elsewhere to fund the budget deficits; especially when there is no supplementary budget for cutting down the mother budget and its huge deficits.”
Intersociety consequently demanded that the incoming Administration of Emeka Ihedioha in Imo State must do the following:
a. Set up a Verification Panel of Auditors to investigate and verify the mess in the finances of the outgoing Government of Imo State so as to:
b. ascertain the true state of finance of the State
c. what is left in the State coffers (if any)
d. total amount of unpaid arrears of salaries and other remunerations belonging to serving workforce of the Government of Imo State and those in its 27 Local Government Areas between 29th May 2011 and 29th May 2019 and those owed by previous Administrations in the State before 29th May 2011.
e. total amount of unpaid pensions, gratuities and other retirement benefits belonging to retired workforce of the Government of Imo State and its 27 Local Government Areas between 29th May 2011 and 29th May 2019 and those owed by previous Administrations in the State before 29th May 2011.
f. total amount of unpaid judgment debts by the outgoing Government of Imo State, dates of their obtainment and parties and persons owning them.
g. total amount of unpaid contract debts by the outgoing Government of Imo State for contracts already completed and commissioned (if any)
h. total amount of unpaid contract debts in the State for uncompleted projects including roads (if any) and their various stages of completion as well as terms or circumstances of award of the contracts
i. total amount of foreign loans or unpaid debts borrowed externally by the outgoing State Govt., between 29th May 2011 and 29th May 2019 and those borrowed by the previous Administrations in the State before 29th May 2011
j. total amount of local loans or unpaid local debts borrowed from commercial banks by the outgoing Government of the State between 29thMay 2011 and 29th May 2019 and those borrowed by the previous Administrations in the State before 29th May 2011
k. illegal seizure or acquisition of Government lands or properties (if any) within the State or beyond by outgoing top elected and appointed officials in the State for personal use or criminal acquisition between 29th May 2011 and 29th May 2019.
l. illegal or unlawful withdrawals from the State coffers, other than for defraying statutory and legitimate monthly wage bills including payment of workers’ salaries, overheads and pensions; or for payment of duly certified completed public contracts or projects
m. holistic investigation into all local borrowings between 29th May 2011 and 29th May 2019 other than foreign borrowings; authentication of names and addresses of the lenders, purposes for obtaining the loans, their uses, agreed percentage interests and default penalties; repayments already done and specific and general terms or conditions for repayment of such loans or debts.
n. Blacklisting including court actions against the lenders of loans found to have been fraudulently obtained in law, through investigation under demand; by the outgoing Government of Imo State particularly those that fall outside loan lending laws of Nigeria and those possibly obtained between 12th March 2019 and 29th May 2019 or those obtained within the period but got backdated to evade traces and culpability.
o. Cancellation of such loans found to have been fraudulently obtained under paragraph “m” (if any) and abrogation of their repayment or servicing obligations and agreements with the Government of Imo State.
p. Publication and wide media circulation including advertorials, of the abridged findings of the Verification Panel of Auditors for specific and general public knowledge by the People of Imo State, Nigerians and members of the international community.
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
The Guild of Private Broadcast Managers has extended its heartfelt congratulations to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as it celebrates its 70th Anniversary.
In a congratulatory message signed by the Guild’s National President, Ambassador Patrick Uzoyi-Peters, JP MNGRM, the guild described the milestone as a testament to the NUJ’s unwavering commitment to upholding press freedom, journalistic integrity, and the advancement of democracy in Nigeria.
“For seven decades, the NUJ has played a pivotal role in shaping the media landscape, advocating for the rights and welfare of journalists, and ensuring that the voice of the people remains strong and unyielding. Your resilience, professionalism, and dedication to ethical journalism have been instrumental in fostering transparency, accountability, and national development”.
Celebrating this historic achievement, the Guild’s President, Uzoyi-Peters recognized the sacrifices and contributions of journalists across the nation who work tirelessly to inform, educate, and empower society.
The Guild reiterated it commitment towards collaborating with the NUJ in promoting responsible journalism and strengthening the media industry for the greater good.
While wishing the NUJ continued success, growth, and greater impact in the years ahead, President Uzoyi-Peters prayed that the anniversary serve as a renewed call to uphold the principles of truth, fairness, and press freedom in our collective pursuit of a more informed and just society.
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