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HOW JUDE EJIOGU LOOTED 1BILLION NAIRA IMO LGA PENSION FUNDS

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8 years ago

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I told you before that as a young man one of the artists I followed his music is the late legendary Afro-beat maestro Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Fela did a lot of songs, most of which are about the misrule of our government and even the western imperialists. Fela did a song titled: ‘Beasts of no nation’ to protest the evil apartheid regime in South-Africa. And back home, Fela through his songs exposed so many evil in government dealings. ITT (International Thief, Thief) ,VIP (Vagabonds in Power), Teacher don’t teach me nonsense, Sorrow, tears and blood and Authority Stealing are a few among many work of legendary Fela. I remember his song title Army Arrangement; I heard Fela singing and saying 2.8 billion naira oil money missing.
Last time, I told you that over 3 billion naira was looted and carted away by the Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly Hon Benjamin Uwajumogu. I told you that the Imo Speaker awarded fraudulent Road Contracts to himself in Imo State using his friends as fronts and used the money he got from the road contracts scams to acquire eye popping mansions in Nigeria.I shouted because In the midst of abundant human and natural resources, the vast majority of Imo working masses live in abject poverty. The vast majority of Imolites are kept in unstable and difficult socio-economic conditions while a tiny fraction have exclusive access to things and comforts of life. I called Uwajumogu the International Thief Thief number one of Imo State.The entire money stolen by Uwajumogu alone is enough to begin to rebuild failed infrastructures in his Okigwe constituency. Yet this same man is jostling to represent Okigwe zone in the Senate.
This time i am pointing at the International Thief Thief number two that is currently in power in Imo State, another VIP (Vagabond in Power). This highly placed government official and his accomplices stole 1billion naira from the Imo State LGA Pension fund when he was the Chairman of Local Government Service Commission. Today, LGA pensioners are calling on the State Government to immediately settle the pension of Local Government retirees in Imo State.So who looted the monies issued out by Governor Okorocha to settle LGA pensioners?
Many of these LGA retirees are already living from hand to mouth, despite having committed their active lives to serving society. Many of them are already infirm and can hardly afford the exorbitant hospital bills charged thanks to commercialization of healthcare in Imo State. Many have their children in schools, and can hardly pay high fees. While many of these retirees have not been put on the payroll since their retirement, those already on the payroll are still owed several months of unpaid pension arrears and gratuity. Thus, these retirees, who have no other means of livelihood, can hardly meet their basic needs, while majority are already in debt. Retirement, which ordinarily should be embraced with joy, has become a source of sorrow, frustration, panic and agony in Imo State.
I am aware that the primary reason for this embarrassing state of absurdity as per pensioners in our LGA’s is the “profit first” capitalist Chief of Staff to the Imo Governor Sir Jude Ejiogu who allegedly looted 1 billion naira LGA pension funds in the State when he was the Chairman of Local Government Service Commission. I totally condemn in strong terms this insensitivity to the plights of pensioners in the state. I say boldly today that Jude Ejiogu is the ITT (International Thief Thief number two) in Imo State. Fortunately for this looter, he was not charged to court and he is still in power.
Senate president, David Mark once said ‘if your wealth is from people’s pensions then that is blood money. It is blood money because you cannot take away the sweat, the entitlements of an old man or an old woman who is looking up just to that little appreciation from his country and believe that you will live in peace. You cannot live in peace because the prayers of those old men at home will fight you.’ Like David Mark i share the anguish and anger of the ordinary Imolites against this kind of capitalist looting. To me even the stoning of persons that stole money belonging to pensioners would not be sufficient to compensate the affected pensioners, if on retirement they could not receive their pensions. Yet this same man is jostling to represent Owerri zone for elective position in 2015.
Jude Ejiogu is enmeshed in an orgy of corruption and mass looting of public money and natural resources. I am aware of why Commercial banks operating in Imo State shut their doors against their customers for some days. I am aware that Jude Ejiogu when he was the Special Adviser to the Governor on Internal Revenue Generation (IGR) collected millions of naira from commercial banks in the state as tax but diverted the monies into his own pocket. The State government later demanded the same tax that Ejiogu had already collected from the banks and the banks had to go on strike for excessive taxation .I am also aware that the same Jude Ejiogu allegedly defrauded Hall mark Bank and Progress Bank and ran to USA some years ago. Yet this same man is jostling to represent Owerri zone for elective position in 2015.
To end perpetual mass misery in the midst of an inexhaustible abundance in Imo State, i have commence a campaign against looters like Ejiogu.From week to week i will name them one after the other. As have been amply demonstrated, these capitalist elite like Ejiogu , unless removed from political power will always and would always directly loot the resources that ought to be used to better the lot of the vast majority of the Imo population.Equally worrisome is that when capitalist thieving elite like Ejiogu are not busy with direct looting of the State’s treasury, their only other pre-occupation is the implementation of socio-economic policies that can only make life harder for the overwhelming majority of Imolites . This is the primary ideological reason why Ejiogu is a chief advocate for privatization and commercialization of basic needs and social services in Imo State. Through this unjust strategy, he and other ruling capitalist thieving cabal in Imo State have virtually sold to themselves all publicly built government houses and public companies at rock bottom prices, of course, with money directly looted from the state’s treasury. Save us o God.
-Kenneth Uwadi, Mmahu-Egbema, Imo State, Nigeria

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Just In: Tinubu swears in Ibok-Ette Ibas as Rivers sole administrator

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4 hours ago

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March 19, 2025

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President Bola Tinubu has officially sworn in Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.

 

The ceremony took place after a brief meeting between the president and the newly appointed sole administrator at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Ibas’s appointment follows President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State due to ongoing political instability and security challenges.

 

 

As part of the emergency measures, the president suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the state’s House of Assembly for an initial six-month period.

 

Vice Admiral Ibas will oversee governance in the state, although his role does not extend to enacting new laws.

 

However, the judiciary in the state will continue to operate independently.

 

 

 

 

 

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Finally, Reps pass Tinubu’s four tax bills

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8 hours ago

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March 19, 2025

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The four tax bills transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu in October 2024 were on Tuesday passed on the third reading in the House of Representatives.

The House had last Thursday considered and approved the report of the House Committee on Finance, which proposed several recommendations on the executive bills.

After a delay of about three months, which included public hearings and the receipt of memoranda from concerned stakeholders, the National Assembly finally resumed work on the bills three weeks ago.

The hearings were focused on how best to reform Nigeria’s tax administration system.

During Tuesday’s plenary, House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, moved for the bills to be read for the third and final time.

He said: “Mr. Speaker and honourable colleagues, I move that the bill for an Act to provide for the assessment, collection of, and accounting for revenue accruing to the federation, federal, states, and local governments, prescribing the powers and functions of tax authorities, and for related matters be read for the third time.”

He further moved for the reading of additional bills for the third time.

These included a bill to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No.13, 2007, and enact the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, which would establish the Nigeria Revenue Service with powers for assessment, collection, and accounting for revenue accruable to the government.

He also moved for a bill to establish the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal, and the Office of the Tax Ombudsman for the harmonisation, coordination, and settlement of disputes arising from revenue administration in Nigeria.

Lastly, a bill to repeal certain acts on taxation and consolidate the legal frameworks relating to taxation, enacting the Nigeria Tax Act to provide for the taxation of income, transactions, and instruments was also moved for third reading.

The bills were then overwhelmingly voted on by the lawmakers and passed with Speaker Tajudeen Abbas presiding over the session.

The next step will see the bills forwarded to President Tinubu for assent after passing through the Senate and, if necessary, undergoing harmonszation between the Senate and House versions.

Despite the overwhelming support, the bills faced opposition, particularly from lawmakers from northern Nigeria, who, in solidarity with their governors, called for the bills to be withdrawn for further consultation.

 

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NBA to Tinubu: You lack power to remove elected governor under emergency rule

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10 hours ago

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March 19, 2025

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The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has told President Bola Tinubu that he lacks the constitutional powers to remove any elected governor of a state in Nigeria.

Besides, the umbrella body for legal practitioners in the country held that Tinubu’s Tuesday night declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State “remains constitutionally inchoate and ineffective” until the National Assembly approves the declaration.

In a statement issued to journalists on Tuesday night, the NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, observed that the action of Mr. President has far-reaching constitutional and democratic implications, particularly in light of the provisions of Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, which governs the procedure for the proclamation of a state of emergency and which the President purported to have relied upon.

While stating that Section 305 of the Constitution indeed vests the President with the power to declare a state of emergency, Osigwe argued that “The 1999 Constitution does not grant the President the power to remove an elected governor, deputy governor, or members of a state’s legislature under the guise of a state of emergency.”

Besides, the NBA President observed that “the Constitution provides clear procedures for the removal of a governor and deputy governor as per Section 188. Similarly, the removal of members of the House of Assembly and the dissolution of parliament are governed by constitutional provisions and electoral laws, none of which appear to have been adhered to in the present circumstances.”

The NBA further submitted that “A declaration of emergency does not automatically dissolve or suspend elected state governments. The Constitution does not empower the President to unilaterally remove or replace elected officials. Such actions amount to an unconstitutional usurpation of power and a fundamental breach of Nigeria’s federal structure.”

The NBA, in addition, asserted that the situation in Rivers State, though politically tense, does not meet the constitutional threshold for the removal of elected officials, adding that “the purported removal of Governor Fubara, his deputy, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly is therefore unconstitutional, unlawful, and a dangerous affront to our nation’s democracy.”

While reiterating that the President does not have the constitutional power to remove an elected governor under a state of emergency, the body stated that any such action is an unconstitutional encroachment on democratic governance and the autonomy of state governments.

The NBA therefore called on the National Assembly to “reject any unconstitutional attempt to ratify the removal of the Rivers State Governor and other elected officials. The approval of a state of emergency must be based on strict constitutional grounds, not political expediency.”

Besides, it warned that suspending elected officials under emergency rule sets a dangerous precedent that undermines democracy and could be misused to unseat elected governments in the future.

Meanwhile, the NBA demanded that all actions taken in Rivers State strictly conform to constitutional provisions and Nigeria’s democratic norms.

It also encouraged all stakeholders, including the judiciary, civil society, and the international community, to closely monitor the situation in Rivers State to prevent unconstitutional governance and abuse of power.

“The NBA remains committed to upholding the Constitution, defending democratic governance, and ensuring that the rule of law prevails in Nigeria. A state of emergency is an extraordinary measure that must be invoked strictly within constitutional limits. The removal of elected officials under the pretext of emergency rule is unconstitutional and unacceptable.

“We call on all relevant authorities to act in accordance with the law and the best interest of the country. Nigeria’s democracy must be protected at all costs, and the Constitution must be upheld as the supreme legal authority in all circumstances,” the statement added.

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