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JUNE 11, 2007 VOL. 21, NO. 9

Running with the Loot

Pa. Felix Ehigiator

Edo State Accountant-General, Peter Ehigie, escapes to London, leaving an almost empty treasury for the new government in the state
By Walid Ogunseri, Benin City
he new governor of Edo State, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor is apparently in for trouble as he is assuming office under a messy and near empty treasury as well as huge debts arising from the massive looting of the state treasury, allegedly committed by the Accountant-General of the state, Peter Ehigie, who is said to have made away with over six billion naira.
The Source’s investigations reveal that the said Accountant-General successfully left the shores of the country to London alongside his immediate family, from where he was said to have dispatched a notice of retirement to the secretary to the state government, Osagie Osazee Ize-Iyamu through a courier service.
As a result of Ehigie’s disappearance, the entire treasury department is now in confusion as several vital documents are believed to have been taken away, ostensibly to cover the alleged monumental fraud perpetrated by the fleeing Accountant-General and aided by some top functionaries of government. The documents involved illegal deductions from local government council funds, from 1999 till date, alleged payment for some unexecuted contracts. A well-known source close to the State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development contended that the out-going governor of the state, Lucky Igbinedion, cannot claim ignorance of the sudden disappearance of the Accountant-General, who served as a major drain-pipe to siphon money from the state’s treasury.
This source also said that the fleecing Accountant-General, to a large extent, aided and abetted looting of the treasury of the state, adding that, ‘he was like a partner-in- crime with the governor, in the illegal deductions from councils fund running into several billions of naira.
Only in April this year, Ehigie was invited by the State House of Assembly to explain reasons behind such deductions which were never accounted for, for there were records to show that such money was deducted from the local councils. But while the legislators were waiting anxiously for him to explain the retionale behind the illegal deductions, news came that Ehigie had disappeared into thin air. As a major signatory to salary cheques, his sudden disappearance caused untold hardship to civil servants in the State as their salaries were delayed close to two months before the situation was remedied by his assistant.
Right now, the entire treasury is in a mess as several documents are said to have been distorted and several vouchers taken away. As it is, sources say that it will take a team of qualified and crack external auditors to determine the extent of looting and the actual amount that was stolen or carted away from the treasury.
Even as many staffers are keeping sealed lips over recent happenings, some of the them are of the opinion that the out-going governor must be a principal partner in the looting of the state’s treasury.
Notably, the out-going government in Edo State says it is handing over a debt-free portfolio to its successor, because in its words, “it is not indebted to any local bank and did not obtain any foreign facility.”
Though the former Commissioner for Information and Orientation,Kingsley Osadolor, had told newsmen in Benin at a briefing on the outcome of Monday, May 21, 2007 State Exco meeting, that the state government would hand over a debt-free portfolio, but until there is a proper audit of the government’s financies, the level of indebtedness would continue to hang in the air.
Meanwhile, tongues are still wagging in the state over the two billion naira loan secured in 2004 for the construction of roads within the state capital, Benin City, which unfortunately, is still wearing sorry looks. In fact, many indigenes are aggrived over the out-going governor’s neglect of the infrastructural needs of the state.
In spite of the huge allocations and monies from the derivation fund which he collected from the federation accounts, they insist that in the area of infrastructure, Governor Igbinedion scored zero.
In the same vein, some are not happy over the one billion naira which the governor secured from the money market to build the Russian Rouselli houses in iyekeogba Housing Estate, which is presently being occupied by reptiles and other dangerous animals.
Others are still in a state of confusion as to what happened to the N800million Ikpoba River dredging project, which was abandoned by the state government in 2000.
In some other quarters, people are worried over the spate of selling of government properties which were said to have been allegedly sold to the governors’ father.
Critics even allege that the former governor was quite aware of the whereabouts of the fleeing Accountant-General, and he may have, in fact, advised him to flee in order to avoid the prying eyes of the state legislators as well as avoid embarrassment from law enforcement agents. They further rationalise that without the support of the Accountant-General, the governor cannot take a single kobo out of the state’s coffers.
Though the governor may not have much legacy to leave behind for his successor, the truth remains that when Governor Igbinedion came in 1999, he revived all government-owned parastatals, by removing self-substance policy which was introduced by the past military Governors.
In some parastatals that were owed over 18 months salary arrears, Governor Igbinedion cleared such debts. Specifically, he placed workers of the Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS), into the mainstream of pensions. The Igbinedion administration, however, gave teachers in the state a sense of belonging by frequently promoting and giving them car and bicycle loans.
Stagnated promotions for civil servants were addressed and leave grants paid. He brought The Observer newspapers to life. Recently, he built a Women and Children Specialist Hospital which he named after the late Stella Obasanjo in the state capital.
Piqued by the development, Governor Osunbor last Wednesday ordered the immediate freezing of all accounts belonging to the Edo State government in commercial banks. The directive which came barely 24 hours after the new governor assumed office, sources said, is aimed at forestalling last minute withdrawals by officials of the out-gone administration.
In a statement by the state's Head of Service, Dr. Simeon Imoukueme, Governor Osunbor further ordered the sack of all political appointees in the last administration and directed them to surrender all government property in their possession. Those affected include commissioners, board members, special assistants and advisers, as well as tax and revenue consultants.