Following the invitation extended to Sole Administrators, Director of Accounts and General Duties, DAGs, Treasurers and Head of Departments in the twenty Seven Local Government Areas of Imo State, by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission ICPC, to report to Abuja, the Imo State Government has launched a plan to “harmonize” its documents before proceeding to Commission.
According to report reaching Trumpeta, the State Government has set-up a committee to “talk” to the aforementioned LGA top officers to “regularize” the documents being demanded by ICPC, to avoid untold developments.
Trumpeta unveiled that a meeting was held at the Sam Mbakwe Hall, Government House, Owerri, between the Government team and the LGA Officers.
Impeccable sources told this Newspaper that those in the parley include Hon Stan Dara, who heads the Joint State/Local Governments Project Committee, including Chief Jerry Okolie, Commissioner for Local Government Affairs.
It was learnt that the crux of the matter was how the LGA top officers would cover the irregularities trailing award of contracts in the LGAs, since the inception of the Gov Rochas Okorocha’s administration in 2011.
Trumpeta learnt that most of the contracts awarded in the LGAs were done without due process, while many do not exist at all in the records.
Sources said that the DAGs, Treasurers and other top LGA officers were not carried along in the award of some of the fictitious contracts that cannot be traced any where.
Therefore, the LGA officials were asked to go and produce tenders, quotations, evaluations and other important documents that back official contracts.
Many of them expressed apprehension in producing such documents that never existed, saying that it would take a long time and procedures, including advertisements in Newspapers. They were given four days to produce the documents.
The Commissioner for Local Governments, Chief Jerry Okolie was accused of handling the matter with naivety, but for Hon Stan Dara who seems to be knowledgeable enough to handle LG officials with respect, while Okolie was dishing out orders as if talking to his students.
Most of the LGA officials who spoke to Trumpeta confirmed the story, saying that their jobs are at risk, as they are under duress to commit acts inimical to Civil Service rules.
Meanwhile, a source from Government House Owerri told Trumpeta that there was a meeting with the LG officials with Government Team on how to reconcile Local Accounts, and not instruction for them to “doctor” LGA documents.
A DAGs who spoke to Trumpeta under anonymity disclosed that the authentic Allocations which come from Abuja does not reach the LGAs intact, as only a token is handed over to the SOLADs to run the LGAs.
“The SOLADs themselves are grumbling, but they are afraid to speak out” the DAG said.
Meanwhile, reports reaching our news desk indicate that the affected council officials met at their respective LGA headquarters to harmonise contract awards undertaken by the present administration since it came into power. The meeting tried to regularize contracts entered into by the state government on behalf of the councils and contractors.
