– Chairmen, IMC defy Ihedioha’s TSA policy
– Run private bank accounts with public funds
Reports reaching our news desk have it that all is not well with the Interim Management Committees at Adapalm estate Ohaji and Imo Transport Company (ITC) Owerri.
The Interim Management Committees which tenures have since elapsed are said to be in the habit of struggling for supremacy, with their Chairmen running the establishments, as private enterprises.
The Chairmen are known to evade meetings with other members of the committees and their operations essentially shrouded in top secrecy.
At the Adapalm headquarters in Ohaji, committee members and staff are grumbling and embittered that the Chairman, who is the custodian of all revenues generated, has never paid in any money as proceeds of sales of palm fruits, since they took over the establishment months ago, contrary to the widely brandished Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) domiciled in Imo state, as directed by Governor Emeka Ihedioha, for strict compliance.
There is also a standing rule that buyers of the palm fruits should pay into the banks and use their tellers to take delivery of goods upon presentation at the company premises.
However, in a bid to circumvent accountability, the Chairman is said to have allegedly opened a private account while advising customers to pay into the account before taking delivery of goods.According to our source,Kerunwa clandestinely stationed a select number of staff to collect cash for him and pay into the private account.
To hide the suspicious transactions from the prying eyes of other members of the Interim Committee, the Adaplam Chairman, according to the source had entered into a conspiracy with the Head of Commercial Department and one Dr Emme Okorie, to sell fresh palm fruits bunches in trucks at N450,000 per truck, while a bunch of palm fruits goes for N270, which consumers complain to be exploitative, outrageous and unaffordable to the common man.
In a week alone, fresh palm fruits harvested from the estate, generates at least ten (10) trucks loads that are sold to willing buyers, even at such exorbitant costs.
As at the time of filing the reports, only the Chairman, Dr Anthony Kerunwa, Head of Commercial (sales) and Dr. Emma Okorie, have details of truck sales, revenue generated and account number deposited.
There is this insinuation however that, a top government appointee is supportive to this obvious non-implementation of TSA at Adapalm estate, Ohaji, and serves as cover and security for the IMC Chairman.
At Imo ITC, where Hon Emeka Ariguzo is the Chairman of the Interim Management committee, no payment has been recorded for government from proceeds of government fleet of franchised vehicles.
This is unlike the administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha, when it was said that one Emeka Duru of Global Ginikana, to which Okorocha concessioned ITC, was returning not less than N30 million monthly, after settling staff salaries, maintenance costs and administrative expenditures.
The source revealed that the Chairman surreptitiously opened a private account with Unity bank in the name of FLEET MANAGEMENT NIG.LTD. to which all payments are made.
The development as stated by an observer calls for concern.Another school of thought has it that the problem is not necessarily on IGR but bulk of the money are diverted or outrightly stolen, using a number of conduit pipes to hoodwink unsuspecting Imolites. They could not appreciate while ordinary Interim Management Committee Chairmen will indulge in such financial fraud, such as witnessed in Adapalm and ITC, which are the only surviving gold mines in Imo State.
When our reporter contacted Hon Emeka Ariguzo on hone for comment, he insisted that our reporter visits him in his office before he could state his own side of the story but he subsequently refused to take his calls or made himself available for interview.
Similarly, at Adapalm, both Dr Anthony Kerunwa and Mr Emma Okorie ignored their calls uptil the time of going to press.
