The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, the umbrella Body for workers in Imo State Local Government Areas, has petitioned the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma to the Imo State House of Assembly.
In the petition dated April 28, 2020, and signed by Comrade Victor Adedayo, the State Secretary of NULGE, Imo State, the Organization accused Gov Hope Uzodinma of not following the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) guidelines which asked Governors not to dip hands into Local Government Funds.
Imo NULGE alleged that since three months now, the Gov Hope Uzodinma administration has not held Joint Account Allocation Committee JAAC Meetings, where the total sum of money that enters the Twenty Seven Local Government Areas are disclosed, and shared among the LGAs to carry out their functions.
Imo NULGE said that instead the State Governor has been spending the Imo LGA funds on his own without involving the LGAs, which NULGE claimed has led to Imo LGA workers not receiving their salaries.
The Body charged the Imo Legislature, as part of its oversight function, should investigate the allegation, and ask the Governor to do the right thing by releasing Imo LGA funds to the appropriate people for the development of the LGAs.
NULGE also accused the Auditor General of the LGAs, Bar Osita Nwosu whom they claimed ought to have retired from civil service, of conniving with the State Government to frustrate the Director of Administration and Accounts and General Services DAGS and Treasurers in the LGAs, including posting them out of the system and replace them with hand picked Government Agents.
“Rumours have been rife and viral that there are plans to unjustly victimize Directors of Administration and General Services DAGS and Treasurers of the Local Government Councils through orchestrated phathom allegations of fraud leveled by the Auditor General of LGAs” the letter read.
