The Contracts/Consultancy Review Committee, set up by the Ekiti State Government, has indicted ousted Governor Segun Oni of embezzlement of N5.4bn in the award of various contracts during his three-and-half-year tenure.
According to the draft white paper on the report of the panel, released to the media on Tuesday, Oni was discovered to have defrauded the state in 11 contracts awarded by him as the state governor.
This was contained in a statement on the white paper by Odunayo Ogunmola on Tuesday.
The contracts include dualisation of Ado-Iworoko-Ifaki Road, Igede-Eyio-Iworoko Road, cross-boundary roads, construction of five new state secretariat buildings, new House of Assembly complex, cassava revolution scheme and purchase of 600 cows from South Africa for Ikun Dairy Farm.
Oni was also alleged to have defrauded Ekiti people through the Government House water reservoir project, the Deputy Governor’s Office project, among others.
The panel led by its chairman, Mr. Eben Alade recommended that the Kayode Fayemi-led administration must use all legal means to compel Oni to refund a total sum of N5,419,506,264.55 to the coffers of the state government.
The panel also recommended that government should involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the courts of law to recover all outstanding monies in the hands of Oni, his aides, career civil servants, contractors and consultants who allegedly colluded to defraud the state of billions.
In his reaction, Oni, in a statement by his media aide, Wale Ojo-Lanre, said the administrtaion of the state had passed into the the hands of unserious people.
He wondered why it had to take the Fayemi-led government seven months for it to “concoct” evidence of corrpuption against him.
Oni said, “It is painful that Ekiti State is obviously in the hands of unserious people whose understanding of governance does not go beyond the exhibition of thuggery, crudity, concoction of lies.
“If not, they won’t be making allegations of fraud against a government that they took over from seven months ago.
“Until they are courageous enough to approach the appropriate anti-corruption agency with their so-called evidence of fraud, we will continue to see their ranting as that of a group of people who have not been able to add a single block to the building of Ekiti State.
“Besides, when they came out with their N40bn debt concoction, we challenged them to publish the details. Up till now, they are yet to concoct the details together. Now it is another N5.4bn.”
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"Oni embezzled N 5.41bn Ekiti money"- Panel of inquiry
"Oni embezzled N 5.41bn Ekiti money"- Panel of inquiry
NigerianEye
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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