(LOKOJA)
Heads may roll in some Kogi State ministries and parastatals as State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, is said to have uncovered a two billion naira fraud in the state
It was learnt that the governor’s unscheduled visit to some ministries in the middle Nigerian state revealed a multibillion naira fraud in the state Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Sources privy to the visit told reporters that the sleaze was in connection with the Kogi State/CBN/MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) which was allegedly diverted by certain top directors in the ministry.
The astonished Governor was said to have immediately directed the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry to turn in a comprehensive report on the fund. He also asked the ministry to collaborate with the Office of the Accountant General of the state for a thorough investigation.
Alhaji Yahaya Bello promised to get to the root of the fraud, assuring that he was ready to prosecute anyone found wanting at the MSME.
He reiterated the determination of his administration to root out corruption from the civil service, saying his administration will not spare anyone who has constituted himself or herself as a drag on the state’s finances.
Sources told newsmen that palpable tension has enveloped the civil service even as the Head of Service in the State, Mr. Moses Atakpa, has been sent on a 30-day compulsory leave.
A source who craved anonymity told newsmen in Lokoja that the revelations, said to have been a result of an ongoing staff verification process, will shake the entire civil service.
(Emmanuel Adeyemi, SUN NEWS ONLINE)
