The dragnet of the anti-graft agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) is currently hovering over the head of a former local government chairman in Delta State, precisely in Delta North Senatorial District.
According to a report, the said ex-council boss was alleged to have been involved in embezzlement, misappropriation, and outright diversion and looting of the council funds estimated at over N60 million.
The ex-local government chairman whose penchant for pilfering public funds; and who was reputed to have done nothing positive throughout his tenure was initially summoned along side with the Director of Personnel Management of the council, Treasurer and Engineer in-charge of works at the council, but the other two were left off the hook for lack of incriminating evidence against them.
AGBOR (Ika Weekly) – It was however reported that the former council boss was released on bail on health grounds, while his international passport was confiscated by the ICPC, with instruction that he should be reporting to the ICPC headquaters every week. The person who stood surety for him was asked to be visiting ICPC office every day.
The present ordeal of the former council boss, Ika Weekly understand was orchestrated by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in Lagos, the Network for Transparency, Human Rights and Good Governance, which wrote a petition against him to the chairman of the ICPC on his unpleasant and shady activities while in office.
In the petition, the ex-chairman was alleged to have conspired with some staff of the environmental, administrative and works departments of the council to advance about N46.1 million to themselves between September 2006 – February 2007.
It was also alleged that the former chairman in question in collaboration with an engineer defrauded the Local Government Council of the sum of N14.1 million under the guise of rehabilitating a street at Agbor, known as Baleke Road.
According to the petition, in December, 2006, through vouchers, dated 14th and 15th December 2006, the sum of N4.6 million was advanced to a staff of the environmental department without any clear mandate or purpose, and that in November, 2006, N4 million was advanced to an engineer through a payment voucher with number 128/Nov/2006 without clear authorization for a non-existing project.
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