Police detain APC Chairman over misappropriation of over N800 million in Niger state as Chairman, Financial Secretary fight dirty
Crisis rocks the Niger State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the internal rift between the APC Chairman, Engr. Mohammed Jibril Imam and his Financial Secretary Mohammed Idris over alleged misappropriation of over N800million has taken a different dimension.
It was reliably gathered that the APC Chairman was invited by the State Commissioner of Police, Adamu Usman but was eventually detained on Tuesday and stayed overnight at the State Headquarters of the Nigeria Police following pressure from various quarters.
Investigations by Our Correspondent have it that the recent development in the party was not unconnected with the love lost between the State APC Chairman and the State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello.Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello.
It should be recalled that, the Police had invited the party Chairman to appear last week Friday 29th May, 2020 over allegations written by the Financial Secretary of the Party in the state Mohammed Idris alleging lack of record for the sum of over Eight hundred and Forty Eight million, Seven hundred thousand Naira (N848,700,000) recieved and expended by the party without due process.
The APC Chairman , it was gathered did not honour the invitation but the EXCO of the party after a meeting sent a delegation led by the state Secretary Barrister Mohammed Liman to the Police.
While addressing Journalists earlier at the State Secretariat, Minna the APC Chairman blamed the petitioner (Financial Secretary) for divulging confidential informations about the Party to the Public.
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According to him “as I am speaking to you now, I have not seen the petitioner, we are all guided by our Party’s Constitution and not by emotions.
“For a member to divulge informations about the Party without the Party’s consent and even went to the Police thereby reneging on the laws, it’s anti-party. All executive members swore oath to abide by the Party’s Constitution.
“The Financial Secretary is mischievous, we have set up a 5-Man committee and he has been referred to them for further actions.”
Addressing Journalists at the State Correspondent office, Minna alongside the State Internal Auditor, Adamu Aliyu and other Party members, the aggrieved Financial Secretary who listed 11 sources for which such monies were received, said “as the Financial Secretary, I have not gotten records of expenses and incomes recieved by the party over time.
“The source of our revenue within the General elections was party levies, in fact, the Governor paid the sum of N1 million as his party levies, I wrote him the receipt and we started collecting levies from all of them. The trouble started after some days where I saw a withdrawal alert of N15 million, N6 million from one account, and N9 million from another account
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“As the financial Secretary, I have no record of financial dealings; my duties as contained in the Party’s Constitution article 14:8 has been breached. I was blocked from “receiving bank alert on the transaction of the party”.
Idris further disclosed that “when I resumed as the state financial secretary, based on the constitutional provision, I prepared myself, all the records were ready, the ledgers, cash ledgers, files and other things to keep my records, but to my dismay, my Chairman was totally against it, he said that I did not come to the party to audit them. I kept quiet, I didn’t say anything.”
While refuting claims from some quarters that Governor Sani Bello is the one giving him and others moral, Idris said, his decision to raise the alarm was because of his conscience adding that “nobody influeneced my decision, and I swear by the rise of this sun that nobody in Niger State have given me N50 as a bribe to do what I am doing.
“So, I want the Press to get this one right as it is alledged by them that I have been given money to do what I have done. I swear that nobody have given me any money, it is my conscience that have given me the power to do what I have done.”
He said the Party has several bank accounts but he is only aware of two accounts in Zenith Bank and one with Heritage Bank.
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However, trouble started after some days, according to Idris when he saw withdrawal alerts of N15 million and N6 million from one account, and N9 million from another account.
The two accounts, he claimed are domiciled in Zenith Bank. “I was very surprised because I have no record, there is no memo to that effect, there is no approval, there was no working committee meeting to approve the withdrawal of that money.”
According to Idris “in an average, we generated over N300 million during the council elections, that money was squandered without record, I didn’t have any single record, even a single paper, I didn’t have any as record.
“I was told we have savings in heritage bank of about N300 million, that savings was meant for the congress but the government paid for everybody, so that money was not touched and supposed to be there.
“We raised N2.6 million cash in the two days from Federal and State Lawmakers, and was given to the treasurer but he didn’t remit the money to the bank.
“We raised over N100 million during the election as party levies, this money was squandered without any record; we have 25 members who from APC, they contribute N1 million each to the party, that money was diverted into a private account.
“There comes the LG council elections, Dr. Shaffi withdrew N30 million, another N30 million was withdrawn on the 30 August 2019.
“He withdrew withdrew N4 million, and also N17.6 million, N13 million, N4 million, N12.5 million.
He further stated that, “within that period, we got a percentage N40 million from the national after the sales of the forms for 2019 general elections and it was paid into the Chairman’s account.
“I respected the APC Chairman, met him personally in his house, in fact, he abused me as if I am his houseboy. The following day, he and the Treasurer, Dr. Shaffi, went to the bank and blocked my transacton alert, I didn’t receive any alert from then on.”
Several attempts to reach the Police failed as at when this report was filed, as the Police Public Relations Officer ASP Wasiu Abiodun did not pick his phone or return the call.
