- Last Updated on 10 May 2015
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The travails of Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State seem to be increasing by the day as a former National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ray Nnaji, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), urging the anti-graft agency to commence investigation into some alleged financial recklessness and embezzlement against the governor amounting to about N12.8 billion.
Nnaji is giving the anti-graft a two-week ultimatum to investigate the governor or he would head to court to force the anti-graft body to go ahead with the probe of the governor.
Chime is still battling with moves by a faction of the state House of Assembly, made of a majority of the members, to impeach him over allegations of gross misconduct, financial impropriety and forgery of financial documents.
Nnaji, in the petition accused the governor of offences including corruption, embezzlement, stealing, forgery and criminal conversion of fund belonging to the state.
The petitioner also indicted the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, adding that his petition was a clarion call for proper investigation by the anti-graft agency.
The petitioner told the anti-graft agency that as a patriotic Nigerian and indigene of Enugu State, he wanted the governor to account for some funds hanging on his neck, saying the governor and close relations engaged in an open day robbery of the resources of the state.
He accused the governor of misappropriation of public funds worth over N12.8bn and forgery of public document, including the 2012 supplementary budget, to cover up same.
The petitioner alleged that the governor inflated the cost of some projects and that he stole public funds through the Enugu State Project Development and Implementation Unit.
Apart from this, Nnaji wants the EFCC to investigate the alleged fraudulent sale, allocation and acquisition of public property, one of which is currently occupied by the governor’s senior sister in Zoo Estate, Enugu. The other building is occupied by some of the governor’s children, whose names were used to acquire it.
He further alleged that Chime has interests in Games and Shoprite, two South African companies which occupy a public property.
He alleged that without budgetary provisions and appropriation law backing the said expenditure, Chime proceeded to spend public funds belonging to Enugu State to the tune of about N12.8bn in 2012 and misappropriated and diverted the sum into his private use without the required approval by the Enugu State House of Assembly.
He also alleged that to cover up this criminal and unconstitutional act, Chime and his cohort, Asogwa, and others subsequently proceeded to forge a document titled: ‘The Enugu State of Nigeria Supplementary Appropriation Law, 2012.
“It is an incontrovertible fact that there is no record of debate of this law nor is there any record of passage of the bill preceding the law before it was passed into law for use by the governor,” the petitioner said.
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