N6.5B Withdrawal: AKSG Attacks EFCC
By UbongAbasi Ise
The Akwa Ibom State Government
has roundly condemned a newspaper report alleging its illicit withdrawal of
N6.5bn, saying it is a malicious allegation and a desperate face saving
effort by the Economic Financial and Crimes Commission, EFCC, which is aimed at
justifying several of its illegalities.
In an electronic statement
released Monday by the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and
Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh, the state government said it is committed to
transparency, accountability and integrity in governance which, by this virtue,
makes Akwa Ibom one of the states in the Federation that publishes its annual
audited financial statements.
“This is a malicious allegation
and a desperate face saving effort by the EFCC to justify the several
illegalities it has allowed itself to be used by the opposition to perpetrate
against the Akwa Ibom State Government which have attracted widespread
condemnation within and outside the country.
“For avoidance of doubt, the
constitution and laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria authorizes only the
state House of Assembly and the state Auditor-General to pry into the financial
dealings of a state government.
“For the records, the current
administration has made Akwa Ibom State one of the few states; if not the only
state that publishes its annual audited financial statements. This underscores
the state government’s commitment to transparency, accountability and integrity
in governance. Copies of the state’s annual audited financial statements are
available in the public domain.
“It is ludicrous that the EFCC
has allowed itself to degenerate into a tool of loopsided political mudsling
and witch-hunting used by the opposition in the state to cast aspersions on the
integrity of the Akwa Ibom State Government,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, it was previously
reported in a newspaper (Not The Sensor) that
EFCCwas probing some Akwa Ibom State officials for alleged withdrawal of
N6.5billion in cash from an imprest account.
The cash was said to have been
diverted from a derivation account to the imprest account of the Ministry of
Justice/ Office of the Accountant-General in the state. Following an
intelligence report, EFCC was said to have discovered that the allocation was
gradually withdrawn in cash for “unknown purposes.”
©The Sensor Newspaper
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