[Abia] Fraud Hit SEMB Again Over Auctioned Vehicles, As Former SEMB Boss, Director Finance Expose Themselves During Investigation

AFNEWS had earlier reported about these vehicles, about 17 of them were procured for service to the seventeen (17) Local Government Areas in Abia State and were without due process sold off at an auction price of three hundred and seventeen thousand naira only (N317,000).

In his defense before the House Committee on Public Accounts, Anti-Corruption and Due Process of the Abia State House of Assembly led by Honorable Barrister Jerry Uzosike, the former SEMB Boss Mr. Lawrence Ogbonnaya, said the process of the auctioning was started by his predecessor. Although he came with a detailed report of the processes followed in the auctioning, there were still some discrepancies in the report which the Committee chairman sought his clarification on.

He mentioned the name of the auctioneer to be Mr. Iheanyi Ekeleme who perfected the auctioning process with the Director of Works, Dr. Ngadiuba; the chief driver Mr. Sunday and stores keeper (name not mentioned). The aforementioned were alleged to be responsible for the idea to sell the vehicles under due process at the supervision of the Director of Board Matters, Dr. Bethran Madufo and his members (Director Works, Stores Officer and Finance Officer). These men, the SEMB former boss said worked with officers of the ministry of transport to carry out the auction sale. The auctioneer, he further stated told him that he had done the advert by posting on the walls of various offices.

As regards the two Peugeot cars that went for servicing in Aba and disappeared, Mr. Lawrence Ogbonnaya revealed that the mechanic who was brought from Aba by the Chairman of the implementation committee to repair two of the vehicles (Peugeot 504 and 505) to be auctioned was no where to be found as his phone has been switched off and his repair shop no where to be located with the vehicles missing till date. He said this was due to poor follow up on the vehicles and the mechanic as every activity regarding this was left to Dr. Onugbufo who died recently.

The Abia State Chairman and South East Zonal Chairman of Nigerian Association of Registered Auctioneers confirmed to the committee that Mr. Iheanyi Ekeleme is not a registered member of the association and he is not an auctioneer. Both alleged that Mr. Ekeleme is an impersonator and that several petitions have been submitted against him of which he came with the copies of the petition.

The heat in the committee room went up as the former SEMB Director of Finance responded to all the former SEMB boss said as he called the former SEMB boss "Mr. Lawrence Ogbonnaya" an "Idi Amin" in his administration of the agency. The former Director of finance Mr. Agwu J. A said that his boss refused to take his advice because he is a man that does not like to be controlled. The former DF alleged that the former SEMB boss had an ulterior motive to use the money gotten from the auction. He claimed his former boss planned to replace him since he abandoned the auction sale; he further claims the auction of the vehicles were surrounded with serious illegalities and that when he discovered the illegalities he refused to be part of it.

He claims his boss refused to employ the expertise of a registered auctioneer because he had ulterior motives. The former SEMB boss when asked said the auctioneer was already there when he came and he didn't want to spoil an already progressing plan given to him by his predecessors.

The former SEMB boss fired back saying he was not surprised about all his former director of finance said claiming the former DF has been nursing personal animosity against him because he stopped him from embezzling money supposedly meant for youth corpers working in the agency in the tune of 2.4 million naira. The SEMB boss said he became an "Idi Amin" because of his Director of Finance's corrupt practice stating that he was embezzling government funds.

Meanwhile the committee chairman in his last remarks stated that this hearing should serve as an awakening to all civil servants in Abia State to be careful to follow due processes in everything as failure will lead to such civil servant being held responsible. He further said that any government that misappropriates government funds will face the House Committee on Public Accounts, Anti-Corruption and Due Process of the Abia State House of Assembly and will be duly prosecuted if found guilty.