Lukman Olabiyi
Accountant General of Abia State, Gabriel Chinenye Onyendilefu, yesterday, admitted before Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos that former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu had no hand in the running of Abia State Government House’s bank accounts during his tenure.
Onyendilefu also revealed that being a principal accountant in government house during the tenure of the former governor, he didn’t have knowledge of all the contracts awarded between 1999 to 2007 by the state government.
According to him, being non-members of the State Executive Council of the state during Kalu’s tenure, he had no privileged knowledge of what and which contracts were awarded to different companies
Onyendilefu is a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the former governor and two others, in an alleged fraud charge against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He revealed all these when he was cross-examined by the defence counsel led by Awa Kalu (SAN), Solo Akuma (SAN) and Kingsley Nwufo (SAN).
Under cross-examination, the witness admitted that during the tenure of the former governor, neither was he signatory to the government house bank accounts and he hadno knownledge of how vouchers were raised or how cheques were drawn.
He also admitted that during the tenure of the former governor, between 1999 to 2007, issues of fraud did not arise neither did anybody write any petition against the state government on issues of financial misappropriation.
Besides, the witness admitted that the formergovernor did publish financial records of the state in the media, for the general public to scrutinise during his tenure.
The witness also admitted that running of government house required huge cash, “which will make government house’s cashiers to be withdrawing monies from time to time.”
“The Chief of Staff to the governor was the overall boss to all the staff in the government house and no withdrawal could be made from the bank accounts of government house without his approval,” he said.
Earlier, during the proceedings, the court admitted two documents that were earlier tendered by the EFCC as exhibits.
The two documents; the Financial Regulations of Abia state and extract of salaries paid to Dr. Kalu while at the helm of affairs in the state, were tendered by the EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) through the witness.
In response to a question from EFCC’s lawyer, Onyendilefu said he got figures of salaries of the former governor from the payroll unit of government house. He added that the total salary paid to the former governor between 1999 and 2007 amounted to N22, 312, 272.
However, upon cross-examination by the second defendant’s counsel, Akuma, the witness revealed that the salary extract was not signed by anyone at the payroll unit.
He also disclosed that the second defendant (Udeh Jones Udeogu) never informed him that he paid any money from government house accounts to Slok Nigeria Limited.
The witness also faulted insinuations that he was retained in the civil service to testify against the defendants.
“I was not retained in service in order to testify against the defendants. The reason for the extension was specified in my letter”, he said.
Further hearing in the matter has been adjourned to March 5.
Onyendilefu had, in his testimony before the court on Monday, revealed that no contract was awarded to Slok by the state government while former governor Kalu was at the helm of affairs in Abia.
In response to a question from EFCC’s lawyer, Jacobs, on award of contracts to the company, the witness disclosed there was no record of any award of contract to Slok by Abia state government between 1999 and 2007.
He said: “Although I was not in charge then, but, the search conducted revealed that no contract was awarded to Slok Nigeria Limited and no payment was also made to the company between 1999 and 2007.”
Onyendilefu has concluded his testimony before the court.