Time Up for Irona?

Gerald Irona

Gerald Irona, the embattled local government chairman of Oguta in Imo State is far from being free, as a 5-man panel set up by the state government finds him guilty of various charges
By Eugenia Okpara, Owerri
It is, indeed, no longer news that within the past few weeks, some highly placed officials of the Imo State Government were invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to explain a few things to operatives of the anti-graft establishment.
What a number of people did not, however, know at the time- and until recently— was that their invitation had nothing to do with graft or the controversial local government road contract awarded to Romix Nigeria Limited; instead, it was, allegedly, connected with the suspension of the Oguta local government chairman, Gerald Irona, an engineer, by the State House of Assembly.
Investigations revealed that those invited by the EFCC were the present Commissioner for Information (then Special Assistant, Political), Sir George Egu, the Special Assistant to Imo State Governor on Security Matters, Chief Ernest Ibejiako and the Principal Secretary to the Governor, Ichie Fide Nwogu.
The Source further gathered that these government officials were asked to explain their alleged role(s) in the suspension of Irona. While Nwogu was asked to explain why he wrote the letter communicating the suspension of the embattled Chairman, Egu and Ibejiako were obviously invited to explain what they did or did not do when they tried to intervene during the crisis in the affected communities in Oguta local government area.
The affected officials went to see the EFCC operatives as requested, gave all the necessary explanations demanded and came back to the state on Tuesday, July 11, 2006, to continue with their official duties. For now, however, it is not very clear what the next line of action by the EFCC would be.
But as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was allegedly quizzing some officials of the State Government over Irona’s suspension, the 5-man Administrative Panel of Inquiry set up by the Achike Udenwa administration to look into the allegations of misappropriation of council funds and other offences, has reportedly found him culpable in a number of issues raised by the petitioners, including misappropriation of over N51 million belonging to the council.
The 5-man panel headed by Ken Uzoechi, a lawyer, stated that after reviewing the evidence before them, the memoranda and other documents submitted to the panel, they came to the conclusion that Irona is guilty of the allegations bordering on gross financial misconduct levelled against him.
It recommended that the suspended Chairman of Oguta local government Council, be immediately removed from office, in accordance with the provisions of Section 36 of the Imo State Local Government Administration Law No. 15 of 2000.
Part of the recommendation reads: “After a painstaking review of the evidence before the Panel, the memoranda and other documents submitted to it, the Panel’s view is that the allegations bordering on gross financial misconduct, inefficiency, abuse of office and wanton violation of the provisions of Imo State Local Government Administration Law No. 15 of 2000 have been established against Gerald Irona, the suspended Chairman of Oguta local government”.
The Panel explained that the recommendation to remove him from office is without prejudice to its earlier one that the suspended Chairman should refund certain sums of money.
“This recommendation is without prejudice to our earlier recommendations that certain sums of money be recovered from the suspended Chairman, Gerald Irona”, the report read in part.
The Imo State Government had, following several allegations levelled against the suspended Chairman of Oguta local council by the councillors and leaders of the local government area, on May 25, 2006 in a letter with reference number GH/PH/S.35/11/11 set up a 5-man Administrative Panel of Inquiry to investigate the allegations and recommend ways that would help move the council area forward.
The terms of reference for the Penal among others was “To enquire into the veracity or otherwise of the allegations levelled against the suspended Chairman of Oguta local government and to come out with findings and recommendations that will help move the Oguta local government forward”
Members of the Legislative Council and Leaders of Oguta local government area had in their petitions to the Imo State House of Assembly alleged non-presentation of annual budget to the Council, non-disclosure of all income accruing to the local government, including monthly allocation from the federation account, internally generated revenue [IGR], oil royalties paid to the local government by oil companies operating in the area, non-payment into the council’s account of excess crude oil special allocation since April 2004, and diversion of Value Added Tax [VAT], due to the Council.
It was based on these allegations as well as the heightened insecurity in the area, with over 12 communities engulfed in intra and inter-community feud that claimed so many lives, and in line with the provisions of the Local Government Administration Law No.15 of 2000, that the House of Assembly recommended the suspension of the chairman and the vice chairman, Irona and Ndukwe Oti, respectively.
The House explained that it recommended the suspension of the duo to allow full-scale investigation into all the allegations raised against them in accordance with the provisions of section 36 [4] [a] of the states Local Government Administration Law No. 15 of 2000.
The legislature also recommended that a panel be set up to investigate the killings at Eziorsu and other areas, as well as into the income and expenditure of Oguta local government from January 2005 to April 2006.
Based on the recommendations of the House of Assembly that Oguta local government chairman and his deputy be suspended and a Panel set up to investigate the allegations against them, the duo were suspended on May 24, 2006 and the Administrative Panel of Inquiry established the next day, May 25, 2006.
The suspended chairman, Irona, the vice chairman, Oti, the Director of Administration and General Services (DAGS) – between April 2004 and February 2006 – B C Ohakwe, the Treasurer between April 2004 and February 2006, M. U Obi, the Head of Works Department (HOD), C. O Okafor and the Women Development Officer [WDO], Gladys Eneberi, were invited by the Panel through letters and announcements on the Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC), to come forward and defend the allegations against them but regrettably the suspended chairman refused to appear or engage any legal counsel to appear on his behalf.
On the non-presentation of income and expenditure account to the Legislative Council, the Panel said that it found— in the absence of any contrary oral or written evidence— the suspended chairman failed, refused or neglected to render monthly income and expenditure account to the Legislative Council since he assumed office contrary to the provisions of section 35 of the LG Administration Law No.15 of 2000.
Section 25 [1] of the Imo State Local Government Administration Law No. 15 of 2000 provides that the Legislative Council has the function of “examining and debating monthly statements of Income and Expenditure which shall be rendered to it by the Chairman of the local government”, and this section was reinforced by Section 35 [4] of the Law No. 15 of 2000 which mandates the Chairman of the local government council to “prepare and present monthly statements of Income and Expenditure to the Legislative Council of the local government”.
The Panel also found out that the suspended chairman contravened the provisions of section 61[2][3] of the Law No.15 of 2000 in the award of contracts. This section stipulates that a local government should not enter into a contract with any person who is for the time being a staff or member of the Council Executive Committee and that the Legislative Council should approve any contract valued above N500,000.
Regarding the allegation of approving multiple payments for same job— often not executed— citing the case of waste disposal which the Council pays N1.5million every month since November 2004,amounting to over N26.4 million for a job not done and the issue of Oguta street light which was paid for twice, the Panel equally found Irona culpable.
According to the report, the Panel found that although the N1.5 million for monthly sanitation was approved by the Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, available evidence nonetheless proved that no monthly sanitation exercise was ever carried out in the Council area to warrant the expenditure of the approved sum.
In view of its findings, it recommended that “the monthly expenditure of N1.5 million debited to sanitation and /or waste disposal for twenty-two months by the Oguta local government stands as expenses incurred on jobs not executed and in the circumstance the total sum of N27.9 million be refunded to the Oguta local government by the suspended Chairman, Gerald Irona”.
On street light, the Panel found that the payment of N1.5 million as indicated in Payment Voucher [PV] 86 for Oguta street light and that of three million naira for the rehabilitation of Oguta street light in PV 99 and the monthly payment of N500,000 as testified by the Head of Department [works], the former DAGS and the former Treasurer were for the same project.
Against the backdrop of the above, the Panel recommended that Irona should refund the sum of three million naira alleged to have been paid for “the rehabilitation of Oguta Street light”, due the fact that the contracts for Oguta street light and that for the rehabilitation of Oguta street light are one and the same contract.
Noted the Panel: “The contract for Oguta Street light for which N1.5 million is paid monthly, is for all intents and purposes; suspicious, phoney, and should be reviewed immediately. This is because the Panel feels that Oguta street light project is one of the conduit pipes through which Council funds are siphoned away by the suspended Chairman for his personal use”.
On allegations of abuse of office and unrestrained approvals called “grants-in-aid”, the panel described Irona as reckless in approving monetary expenses through grant-in-aid, which he disposes as gifts to friends, relations and cohorts and recommended that the N500, 000 which he approved for himself and that of his wife, N560,000 as grants-in-aids should be recovered and paid into the coffers of the Council; the panel further suggested that the sum of N50, 000 should be the limit for grants-in-aid.
Regarding allegation of unilateral award of contracts by Irona like the case of 21-room office block alleged to have been awarded for N84.3 million which the HOD [Works] put slightly above N18 million— for which the sum of N1.35 million was paid to one J.B Nzeribe for five consecutive times in July 2005, amounting to N6.75 million before the contract was awarded to Green Rock [Nigeria] Limited, allegedly owned by the suspended chairman, for N13.7 million, was discovered to be a 16-room block complex.
The Panel also discovered that only N18 million was spent on the office block project which it estimated the actual cost of execution of the project to be about N10 million and thus recommended that the suspended Chairman refund the sum of eight million naira, which is in excess of the value of the project— and that the Council should recover the N6.75million paid to J.B Nzeribe while Irona should be compelled to refund the money if the said Nzeribe refuses to pay.
On the Swimming Pool project which Irona was accused of unilaterally and single-handedly awarded at a cost of N50 million at the Oguta Recreation Centre but which the HOD (Works) said cost N42.177 million, for which four million naira, has been paid to the contractor, the Panel discovered that the contract was unduly inflated and over-bloated while the level of work done does not merit the amount paid the contractor.
It, therefore, recommended that the contractor should refund the sum of N3.6 million to the council and that in the event that the contractor fails, Irona should refund it, adding that the suspended chairman should also refund N1.170,288 allegedly paid to Peers and Partners of Coker Road, Lagos for a feasibility study/design of the Swimming Pool project.
The Panel recommended also that Irona should refund the sum of N3.9 million to Oguta local government, being the money allegedly used for the grading of roads which were not executed, just as the sum of three million naira which he claimed to have used for a non-existent rural electricity contract in Ndionyemobi/Egbuoma Autonomous Community, should be recovered from Irona.
Izombe Library project is another non-existent contract for which money was paid for. The Panel recommend that the suspended chairman should refund the sum of N1.5 million paid in the name of the project as well as the sum of N1.7 paid for feasibility study.
Regarding the intra and inter-community violence which claimed so many lives and wrought irreparable damage on the economic lives of the people, the problem Panel said should be attributed wholly to the actions of the suspended chairman as he spent most of his time fomenting trouble, engineering intra and inter-community feud, using paid agents both in the council and the various communities.
The Panel, indicting the Nigeria Police in the crisis, recommended that the Imo State Government should impress it upon the Nigerian Police that its primary role is to ensure the peace and safety of lives and property in a manner that does not portray them as agents of some misguided and disgruntled elements of the society.
Also, the Panel recommended that the Attorney-General of the State should call for the Police file of all reported cases in Oguta local government area, particularly those that concern deceased persons in Agwa and Eziorsu communities with a view to prosecuting the culprits in court.
The principal officers of the Council, the DAGS, Treasurer, HOD, Works, and the WDO were found guilty of dereliction of duty by the Panel which recommended that being serving civil servants they should be down-graded by one salary grade-level as well as be suspended for three months without pay each, while the HOD, Works and the Women Development Officer are to be transferred out of Oguta local government , the panel suggested.