Home Crime Alleged N5b Scandal: Why EFCC must arrest Ondo Budget Commissioner, Igbasan

Alleged N5b Scandal: Why EFCC must arrest Ondo Budget Commissioner, Igbasan

by Roving

Financial Experts have called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo state to suspend the State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Pastor Emmanuel Igbasan, to allow thorough investigations into the purported budget padding of N5 billion to renovate Daycare centre.

Similarly, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo state chapter has demanded that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should arrest the Commissioner for questioning over the alleged budget scandal.

Speaking Newsmen, the Financial Experts insisted that there are more to a claim by the Commissioner that it was a printing error.

The Commissioner had in a Press Statement, said “the Five Billion Naira (N5b) provision was actually meant to reflect the expected drawdown from the Nigerian for Women Project (WORDLD Bank Supported) which had earlier been captured under the Capital Receipts of the document referred to by Saharareporters. The N18 Million reported on the Nigerian for Women Project is meant for the renovation for Daycare Project.

“This is a regrettable Printer’s interpolation error that occurred during the process of preparing the document for publication. This error would have remained almost undetectable were it not for the eagle eye by (a media outfit) because the Ondo State Budget System is e-based and the correct figures are reflected on the portal as shown below (www.ondobudget.Org).

“Hence, at the operational level, this error will not materialize and almost impossible to detect. The Ministry take full responsibility for this error and we have immediately set in motion the machinery to have the error corrected,” Igbasan said.

However reacting, a Financial Consultant, Mr Emmanuel Ugwu, said the purported errors discovered in the state 2024 budget figures remain an embarrassment to the state government and Governor Aiyedatiwa should not hesitate in suspending the Commissioner for proper investigation if there was a budget padding or it’s actually an error.

“I think it was not enough to just say it was an error on a whole state appropriation act. The Governor presented the budget, the state House of Assembly passed, and yet the Commissioner did not discovered the errors.

“I appeal to Governor Aiyedatiwa to suspend the Commissioner to allow investigation. Such errors are not pardonable. Do you know how many people go through budget? Why is it that it was a media outfit that discovered the so called error. The Commissioner has a lot of question to answer,” Emmanuel said.

Another economic expert, Dr Michael Ayoade who spoke with our reporter on the budget controversy, pointed out that until the Commissioner is suspended by the State Governor, nobody can know the level of compromise that had been done to the State 2024 budget.

Ayoade said, “I am also of the opinion that the EFCC should step in while Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa should suspend the Commissioner for Budget, Emmanuel Igbasan to ensure transparency in the government’s operations. There are more to the errors claimed by the Commissioner.”   

Reacting the main opposition party, the PDP spokesman, Hon. Kennedy Peretei, said “In an attempt to put wool over the eyes of the people, the Ondo State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget in a statement, claimed that the N5 billion was actually “meant to reflect the expected drawdown from the Nigerian For Women Project (World Bank supported)….This is a regrettable printer’s interpolation error that occurred during the process of preparing the document for publication” and that corrective action is underway.

“Now, if as much as N5bn is been voted for renovation, not even building, renovation of DayCare Centres in the state, what kind of DayCare Centre are they trying to renovate? And to worsen it, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and budget said it was an error, what we are saying is that all those who have been involved in this process of error, despite layers of vetting and screening required of budget process, that they couldn’t site it until the media spotted it.

“We have no reason to believe that it was an error, the only thing we can believe is that it was a plan, a coordinated plan to swindle the people of Ondo State.

“We are now using the opportunity to call on the EFCC and the ICPC to move into Ondo state to help us investigate thoroughly what actually happened in this connection and whoever is involved in it, be the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, should be brought to book so that we can insulate the people from this calculated effort to rob them or defraud them.

“If the Governor is sincere about it and believes it was an error, let him start with the Commissioner of Economic Planing and Budget (Emmanuel Igbasan), let anyone who commits the error be sent home, and next time won’t make the error and all those are associated with it should be made to face the wrath of the law so that in future we won’t have this kind of embarrassing situation,” the State PDP publicity Secretary said.

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