…Saraki, Dogara move to save democracy, condemn illegal plan to impeach Gov. Ortom***

… APC sacks pro-Saraki exco***

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has linked Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State to an alleged fraud to the tune of N22bn.

This is just as the EFCC revealed that 21 members of the Benue State House of Assembly are under investigation for allegedly diverting N375m meant for the procurement of vehicles that would be used for oversight functions.

The allegations are contained in a report of an investigation which began in 2016 but was made available to our correspondent on Monday.

According to the report, the governor, between June 30, 2015 and March 2018, ordered the withdrawal of N21.3bn from four government’s accounts in Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria and the United Bank for Africa.

On paper, about N19bn out of the money was said to be meant for the payment of six security agencies that had been deployed in the state to address the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

However, the EFCC stated that less than N3bn of the money was paid to the security agencies while the remainder could not be accounted for.

The report reads in part, “We investigated four bank accounts belonging to two Benue State Government’s agencies. The first agency is the Benue State Government House which has an account in UBA with number 1017348051 and another account in GTB with number 0027952907. These accounts received N1, 916, 635, 206 from the state’s allocation between June 30, 2015 and March 2018.

“The second government agency is the Bureau of Internal Affairs and Special Services. The agency has an account with UBA with number 1007540119 and a First Bank account with number 2023788057. Between the same period, the accounts were credited with N19, 468, 951, 590 from the Benue State allocation.”

The anti-graft agency said one person identified as Oliver Ntom, withdrew over N19bn from the account of the Bureau of Internal Affairs and Special Services based on the instructions of the Permanent Secretary, Boniface Nyaakor.

The money, which was allegedly withdrawn under the pretext of security votes, was said to have been diverted while the memos written in respect of the withdrawal were destroyed.

The report adds, “Investigations revealed that N19bn was withdrawn by one Oliver Ntom, a cashier. Sometimes, in a day, he would withdraw as high as N500m by cashing several cheques worth N10m each.

“The permanent secretary upon interrogation said anytime security agencies requested funds, he would approach Governor Ortom who would ask him to write a memo to that effect. The permanent secretary would write and the governor would approve the money.

“The permanent secretary said the funds are usually given to six security agencies. He said the highest that any security agency gets is N10m a month while the least any of the agencies gets is N5m a month.

“He said after the money has been released, the governor usually orders that the memo be torn to pieces. It is important to note that if a total of N60m is given to all the security agencies collectively every month as claimed by the permanent secretary, it cannot amount to half of N19bn in three years.”

The commission said the funds being spent were not in the budget of the Benue State Government.

It further accused the governor of failing to pay salaries despite withdrawing N1.328bn from the Joint State Local Government Account in Fidelity Bank with number 5030058730.

The report adds, “Investigations revealed that one John Bako, a member of one of the security outfits in Benue, withdrew N28m while one Andooi Festus, believed to be a cashier from the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs withdrew N1.3bn. They have been invited.”

Meanwhile, the EFCC has invited 21 out of the 30 lawmakers in the Benue State House of Assembly for allegedly diverting part of the N375m meant for the procurement of vehicles in 2016.

According to the anti-graft agency, the Benue State Government had in 2016 awarded a contract worth N417m (N375m after tax) to Mia-Three Nigeria Limited to procure 30 Prado TXL vehicles for the lawmakers.

However, only eight members received the vehicles while the others diverted the funds.

The report adds, “About 21 of the lawmakers are under probe. However, 25 of the lawmakers have returned all the money they received which adds up to N245m. Four others have failed to return the remaining sum of N31m.”

Attempts to get a reaction from Ortom were unsuccessful. Calls to the mobile of his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Terver Akase, were neither picked nor returned.

A response to a text message sent to him on the subject was still being expected as of the time of filing this report at 7.30pm.

In the meantime, Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, have described the move by eight members of the Benue House of Assembly to impeach Governor Samuel Ortom as illegal.

In a joint statement, the two leaders, who are being expected to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the move was “a desecration of the legislative sanctity”.

In a joint statement on Monday, they condemned  a situation where  22 other members, the majority,  are kept away from the Assembly Complex by the police.

Saraki and Dogara  called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the police to order and stop them being used to achieve political purposes.

“We have monitored closely the development in Benue State in which the impeached Speaker, Terkimbir Ikyange, led seven other members to serve impeachment notice on the state Governor, Samuel Ortom, while the 22 other members who constitute more than two-third majority have been prevented from having access to the chamber. We believe this is illegality and does not conform to parliamentary procedure on impeachment.

“We also note with surprise the role of the Police in this undemocratic event in which the minority is seeking to impeach a Governor against the position of the majority. We believe it is the sacred institution of the legislature that is being desecrated and rubbished in all these negative developments.

“The situation in Benue State House of Assembly has grave implication for the nation’s democracy and it represents a throw-back to the period of dictatorship in our country. It also represents how the Nigeria Police are being misused to achieve political end. In a statement recently, the Presidency derisively referred to an era in the past where a minority number of legislators was used to impeach Governors who were unfriendly with the Federal Government. What we are seeing in Benue now is a return to that inglorious era.

“We believe this unlawful and unconstitutional move to impeach Governor Samuel Ortom by a minority should be condemned by all lovers of democracy, at home and abroad. We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the police to order and prevent a break-down of law and order. We also call on friends of Nigeria in the international community to lend their voice in condemning the perpetration of illegalities and actions that can subvert our democracy.

“There is already a tense atmosphere in Benue State following the recent killings. Nobody should encourage any action or move which may exacerbate the security situation in the North Central State. As leaders of the Federal legislature, we are ready to work with our colleagues in both chambers of the National Assembly to prevent any attempt to destroy any state legislature or use it to derail democracy”, Saraki and Dogara stated.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday dissolved the executive committee of the party in Kwara State.

The decision was taken by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), which also asked a caretaker committee led by Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa to run the party pending the election of new leaders.

Caretaker committees will be appointed at the ward and local government levels.

The dissolved state executive committee, which is loyal to Senate President Bukola Saraki, is led by Alhaji Ishola Balogun-Fulani, who has been openly castigating the party along with other leaders in the state.

It was learnt that the decision was taken because of alleged disloyalty by the Balogun-Fulani led APC executive.

It was also gathered that the step became necessary to prevent Saraki from “hijacking” the party’s candidates who will be elected at the primaries of APC.

With the development, the party has been handed over to critical stakeholders led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Mohammed and stakeholders on Sunday, at a meeting in Oro, called for the dissolution of the former executive.

A statement  by APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole and National Secretary Mai Mala Buni said: “The National Working Committee (NWC) at its meeting of 30th July 2018 examined the unfolding developments within the party in Kwara State, specifically  the irregularities that characterised the conduct and outcome of the Congresses that produced the leadership of the party at all levels (Ward, Local Government and State).

“The committee also reviewed the actions of some leaders of the party that emerged from the above congress who participated in an open rally calling on the Senate President to defect to the PDP

“The National Working Committee, after a careful and exhaustive deliberation on this and other developments in the State Chapter of the party, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 13.4(xvi) and (xvii) of the party’s  constitution invoked its power as enshrined therein  and hereby resolves as follows:

“To dissolve all party organs from Ward, Local Government and State Executive of the party in Kwara State.

“To constitute Caretaker Committee at all levels of the party organ at: (a) Ward, (b) Local Government; and (c ) State Executive Committees of the All progressives Congress in Kwara State.

“That Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa shall and is hereby appointed as the chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the State Executive Committee of APC in Kwara State.

“That this shall take immediate effect.”

A top source in the party said: “It is evident that Senate President Bukola Saraki is defecting to the PDP  with his supporters. He cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time. We are therefore calling a spade a spade.

“The dissolved APC  executive council is loyal to Saraki. Their plot is to influence the primaries of our party in Kwara State and make sure they impose candidates on us.

“To start the process, the sacked  APC leadership, in an apparent show of indiscipline, was part of those who asked Saraki to defect to PDP. We will not tolerate brigandage.”

In a statement yesterday, Mohammed said the APC would not be left in the hands of double agents.

Reacting to Alhaji Jimoh Balogun’s query of his membership of the APC, he said:  “The issue of my membership of the APC, as well as my contributions to the growth of the party in Kwara and indeed in Nigeria is settled and not subject to any contestation.

“For those who may be engaging in mischief over this, the massive turnout of APC members and supporters to welcome me during my trip home this past weekend for a stakeholders’ consultative meeting should serve as ample confirmation.

“The truth is that those who are making this allegation are the ones who need to validate their membership of our great party, since they have left no one in any doubt about their status as ‘double agents’. Alhaji Balogun is one of the three Kwara senatorial chairmen who recently called on their leader to take them out of the APC. As far as our members are concerned, these Janus-faced people are just waiting to crash the APC in Kwara before they escape to the other side.

“What has rattled them so much, however, is our decision not to allow them to actualise their nefarious plan. That decision was concretised this past weekend when the stakeholders’ meeting resolved, among others, that the current executive committee of the APC in Kwara should be dissolved and a new congress organised at all levels to produce a new set of party executives.

“The stakeholders also want those who got various appointments under the pretext of being APC members to resign immediately or be fired.

They said: “Now that the wheat has been separated from the chaff, APC members and supporters in Kwara are determined to strengthen the party, open its doors to hordes of those willing to join and reposition it ahead of the 2019 general election, with a view to delivering the state to President Muhammadu Buhari. On this, there is no going back.”

Speaking with reporters in Ilorin before the Kwara exco was dissolved, APC Kwara South senatorial chairman Alhaji Jimoh Balogun, said the state party executive led by Balogun-Fulani, remained loyal to the party at the national level.

Alhaji Balogun, who said that they had not left APC, added that members were waiting for the directive from their political leader Dr. Bukola Saraki.

He said members of the National Assembly who defected to the PDP last week did so on personal instances.

Punch with additional report from The Citizen and The Nation