Posted on: 10:40 Sat, 14 Nov 2015



The Justice Elizabeth Kpojime
Commission of Inquiry, which
resumed sitting at the Makurdi High
Court Four on Wednesday, said the
Benue State Bureau for Local
Government and Chieftaincy Affairs
paid N18.7bn meant for primary
school teachers’ salaries into an
unknown account with First Bank in
Makurdi.

Testifying before the commission,
the Permanent Secretary of the
Bureau, Mr. Emmanuel Ikpe, who
could not give a satisfactory
explanation on the identity of the
owner of the bank account, appealed
to the commission to invite the
former Special Adviser of the Bureau
during the period under
investigation, Mr. Solomon Wombo,
and the then Permanent Secretary,
Mr. Asen Sambe, to give the required
clarifications.

He said N1.8bn monthly salaries of
primary school teachers owed
between October 2013 and June
2014, was lodged in the fixed deposit
account number 1017993231 with
First Bank.

Ikpe admitted that the Bureau made
payments between January and May,
2015 to the tune of N18.7bn into the
unknown account at First Bank,
Makurdi, adding that officials of the
bank refused to give the Bureau
details of the account when the
Director of Finance and
Administration approached its
officials.

When the Commission demanded to
know who from the Bureau made the
payment of N4.6bn in May and
N5bn in June last year among others,
Ikpe said the then Accountant, Mr.
Isaiah Ipevnor, and Sambe, who was
the accounting officer, were in the
best position to explain.

On why N3.4m was being paid
monthly by the Bureau to a
contractor, Ameh Technology, Ikpe
explained that the Bureau had
entered into a contractual agreement
with the company for the supply and
maintenance of generators in the 23
local government areas of the state.

He however stated that since he
became the Permanent Secretary, the
money had not been paid to the
contractor and the Bureau was
thinking of terminating the contract
so that if any local government
needed such a service, it would
request for it.

When Kpojime also demanded to
know why Ashitech, Ashifood and
Akpo Integrated Limited were being
paid between N40m and N45m
monthly, the Permanent Secretary
requested for time to enable him to
look into the records and furnish the
commission with details.

Kpojime adjourned the sitting to
enable Ikpe to continue with his
testimony on Friday (today) and
Thursday next week and to enable
him to tender some documents
requested.

Source: PunchNg