Why we sacked late Director – Kogi State Government

The Kogi State Government on Thursday said it sacked its late Director, Alphonsus Ameh, due to his alleged involvement in fraudulent diversion of N225,936,425.72 million pensioners’ fund.

The late Director in the Kogi State Civil Service was a Grade Level 17 officer in the Kogi State Pension Board.

Ameh died on Monday of high blood pressure at the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja.

This came less than 72 hours after he allegedly received his sack letter.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Yahaya Bello, Petra Onyegbule, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lokoja that the late Ameh and four others in the State Pension Board were sacked due to misappropriation of Pensioners’ fund amounting to N225,936,425.72 million.

Onyegbule said a nine-man Senior Management Committee was set up by the government to look into the fraud case.

The committee was headed by Aiyedero Jethro, an Acting Permanent Secretary, as Chairman and John Ekele, Acting Director of Administration and Finance, as Secretary.

Onyegbule added that an emergency meeting of the committee was held on May 4, 2017, which drew the attention of the members to the report from the State Intelligence Bureau and the review of the same by State Auditor-General, Yusuf Okala.

She said the report was on a case of misappropriation of pensioners’ fund, forwarded to the office of the Head of Civil Service by the Secretary to the State Government, on which Bello had directed that immediate action be taken appropriately.

She said: “In the report, the auditor general recommended the immediate dismissal of all civil servants indicted in the police report.

“Based on the personal confession by Mr. Alphonsus Ameh to the State Intelligence Bureau and that he commenced repayment, an attestation that he committed the fraud.

“The late Ameh confirmed to the committee that he received a sum of N2 million as his own share of the looted pensioners’ fund, which he thought was a Christmas bonus.

“Ameh also confirmed that he had refunded part of the money, and pleaded that the committee should tamper justice with mercy considering the numbers of years he had put in the service.

“The committee said that since Ameh affirmed his participation in the sharing of the misappropriated fund, coupled with the fact that he (Ameh) had commenced refunding part of the money, confirmed that he was guilty of the offence.

“The committee added that Ameh has violated the Public Service Rule (PSR) No. 4, section 04401 No. VIII, XI and XII, liable to dismissal from the Service, and therefore recommended that the punishment stipulated by the PSR should be upheld as a deterrent to other civil servants.

“It is on the recommendation of the committee that Mr. Aphonsus Yahaya Ameh and four others were sacked in June 2017 because a Case of criminal conspiracy and theft was established against them.”

Other culprits were Florence Adewunmi, Chairperson of the Pensions Board; Haruna Amina Mudi, Director, Accounts; Abdul Musa, Deputy Director, Accounts; and Itodo Gabriel, Head of Accounts.

They were all of the State Pensions Board.

NAN.