Moses Idika, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party in Ebonyi State, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to launch an investigation right away into the alleged involvement of certain government officials who were recently detained for contract racketeering on Governor Francis Nwifuru’s orders.
In a statement released in Abuja on Friday, Idika made the request and revealed that a thorough investigation will spare the state from humiliation and future poor management.
The PDP leader also called on other anti-graft organisations, including the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Tribunal, to pursue more suspected officials who could have been implicated in egregious violations of Ebonyi procurement regulations.
According to The Intercept, the governor ordered the arrest of six commissioners and contractors who were accused of sabotaging government projects in the state. Victor Chukwu (Environment), Ifeanyi Ogbuewu (Culture and Tourism), Prof. Omari Omaka (Tertiary Education), Uchenna Igwe (Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters), Dr. Moses Ekuma (Health), and Felix Igboke (Project Monitoring) were among the commissioners who were allegedly involved in the case.
Idika responded by expressing worry that the drama taking place in Ebonyi Government House was an “unfortunate eye-opener” to the reasons why the state had regressed so much over the past two years to the point of standstill.
He said, “Many residents felt it was a government-sponsored ‘April Fool’ prank when the news filtered into town on April 1. This is a direct affront to the Ebonyi State Public Procurement and Related Matters Law No. 016 of 2020, which expressly bars public officials from engaging in such procurement processes, as it poses a serious conflict of interest and predisposes such officials to engage in corrupt practices.
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“Based on the foregoing, it has become imperative to invite not just security agencies but anti-graft agencies, including the EFCC, CCB and ICPC, to immediately take over the case of the indicted commissioners and also fish out other government officials that may be involved in similar contract racketeering.
“It is also instructive that we remind Ebonyi State Government led by Governor Ogbonna Nwifuru that governance should not be turned to a bazaar to settle political acolytes, family members and cronies. Enough is Enough! Ebonyi public resources should not be used to build private business empires!”
