The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ebonyi State chapter has petitioned the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) accusing Governor David Umahi of looting the state treasury of over six billion naira after being sacked from office by a Federal High Court.
The petition was signed by a lawyer, Nkemakolam Okoro of Dynamic Option Chambers who claimed to be a lawyer to Ebonyi State chapter of the PDP.
The lawyer in the petition claimed that the said monies allegedly withdrawn by the governor were to fund his appeal of the court decision which sacked him from office.
According to the lawyer, the money is to be allegedly used to pay the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) who the governor has hired to appeal the matter.
It was further alleged that the funds were withdrawn from the state’s accounts domiciled in about nine commercial banks within the space of one week
The PDP, therefore, urged EFCC to stop the governor from further looting the state’s treasury.
Reacting, the state Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Uchenna Orji, described the allegations contained in the petition as irresponsibly false and unfounded, cruel and malicious.
He disclosed this in a statement he signed and made available to the public on Wednesday.
He said: “The entirety of the content of the trending petition addressed to EFCC is absolutely and irresponsibly false, malicious and nothing but a serial of the politically calculated attempt by PDP and desperados to damage the hard-earned reputation of the governor and the integrity of the state government.”
According to Orji, the petitioners want to use the allegations “to attack the credibility of the outcome of the dispensations of all institutions involved in ensuring that justice is done in all the legal actions framed up by PDP to distract the ever performing administration of Governor Umahi, especially to cause him distractions in his intention to run for the Presidency come 2023.”
He maintained that the state government will commence legal proceedings against the petitioners for defamation against the governor and the state government. He noted that the state government’s expenditures are in the public domain.
Orji, however, described the governor as a prudent manager of the state’s resources.
“We rebuke the allegations of ‘looting of Ebonyi State Government’s money’ made by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against our transparent administration as satanic blackmail that has no iota of truth, desperately calculated to attract the attention of the gullible and sully the reputation of the Governor of the State and which we shall not hesitate in invoking legal actions to bring the petitioners to justice.
“Ebonyi State Government’s expenditure is in the public domain, and there is no doubt that Governor Umahi’s administration has been adjudged to be one of the most transparent, judicious prudent and corrupt-free administrations in Nigeria,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Orji said the state government has asked the state House of Assembly to waive its immunity and invite the EFCC to within 30 days, investigate all the issues in the allegations contained in the petition by PDP and any other allegation of financial impropriety raised by them.
He also urged the anti-graft agency to take necessary sanctions against the petitioners for false and fake information if their allegations are not established.
He also urged the public to disregard the allegations by the PDP which he described as a series of lies from the forces who are intimidated by the rising and acceptable performance credentials of Governor Umahi.
