– As Over 1000 Imo LG Staff, Pensioners, Lament Non Payment Of Salaries, Pensions
-He Is Untouchable, Says Governor’s Aide
Despite series of petitions and public outcry in respect of the Accountant General (AG) of Imo State, Linus Okafor’s alleged docility and abandonment of his duties and responsibilities for a novice and non civil servant, Terrence Onyejieku who is said to know practically nothing about salaries and pensions to perform, the Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has refused to say or do anything.
A cross section of Imolites who commented on the development said, it is disheartening that all the Accountant General of a state does is to go to Abuja at the end of every month to sign out huge sums of money which he does not know how they are disbursed.
Some Labour leaders who also spoke on the condition of anonymity expressed surprise that despite all the complaints and petitions, Gov Uzodinma has refused to either speak out or correct the aberration. This, according to them, “gives credence to speculations in several quarters that the Governor is aware of and is also condoning the Accountant General’s docility and inaction because they are in line with his agenda. He is insensitive to the plight of Imo pensioners and civil servants who are suffering the effect of Linus Okafor’s docility and lackadaisical attitude to civil service rules, procedure and guidelines.”
They lamented that several complaints and petitions to the Governor on the need to ensure that the AG is alive to his responsibilities fell on deaf ears.
Recall that a group known as Imolites For Good Governance IFGG) had earlier called on the Accountant General to either rise up to the demands of his office or resign immediately for another person to take over.
“The group stated this through its National Coordinator Gideon Nnadi, who expressed dismay at the way some unqualified non civil servants have usurped his core duties and responsibilities while he folds his hands and watches helplessly.
Nnadi, who aired his views while addressing journalists in Owerri, the Imo State capital recently, said, “We have received several reports about what is happening in the various establishments in the state and how the non adherence to official guidelines and procedure is affecting the system.
Most of these aberrations are happening because the current Accountant General of Imo State, Linus Okafor has decided for inexplicable reasons to sit down, fold his hands and allow those who know practically nothing about the civil service to usurp his statutory duties and responsibilities.
All he does, to the best of our knowledge, is to go to Abuja at the end of every month to sign cheques for money he does not know how they are disbursed. This is very unfortunate and unacceptable. How can a person who claims to be a Chartered Accountant be so dormant to the extent of allowing himself to be used as a rubber stamp by those who know practically nothing about accounting.”
Continuing, he said, “as a group, we know that it is the duty of the Accountant General of the State to oversee the preparation of payrolls and disbursement of government funds. But that is not the case in Imo State today. Hence, we are emphatically saying that if the Accountant General is not ready to live up to expectation, the best thing for him is to resign without further delay and allow somebody who is capable of asserting himself to take over and do the needful.
However, if he fails to heed the voice of reason, we will have no other option than to expose his shady past and alleged atrocities as the Bursar of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo from where he was appointed as the Accountant General of Imo State.”
Speaking in the same vein, a retired civil servant and former Chairman of the Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries in Imo State Chief F.C. Agba in a recent exclusive interview with Nigeria Watchdog Newspaper said, “the verification exercises are absolutely unnecessary because pension, according to section 121 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, as amended, is a charge that is not included in the annual budget. The payment of pension has nothing to do with the annual budget.
Besides, it is ridiculous that the state government keeps on verifying retired civil servants whose records are in the files with which they served the state for several years before they retired. Even if there is need for them to be verified, all that the person needs to come along with is the identification card that will confirm if the person is still alive because all the records are there for any person to see”.
This, according to him, “is like a university that offers a student admission to study a course later turning around to ask the student if he or she actually graduated. It is ridiculous and laughable because it is the university that should go through its records to confirm if the student graduated or not because all the records are there. It is the university that has the records of its students that should say who graduated and who did not. Hence the incessant verification exercises are fraudulently designed to divert pensioners’ money into the private pockets of some heartless people.
Besides, most of the pensioners who have problems and go to the office of the Accountant General for clarification get disappointed. The Accountant General who should at least put things in proper perspective tells them to meet Terrence the Consultant at the Imo State Government House, who is Governor Hope Uzodinma’s kinsman.” He also noted that pensioners who attempted to see Terrence for issues they had found it very difficult to see him because his office is located inside the Government House that is not easily accessible, considering the tight security there.
“And it is the same Terrence who is neither a Civil Servant nor has civil service experience that decides who is paid and who is not paid. Even the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Comrade Ugochukwu has confirmed that over 20% of pensioners are owed several months arrears of pension. It is regrettable that the leadership is not doing much to address the issue with the seriousness it deserves. That some of us are being paid does not mean that we should keep quiet and allow our colleagues who are owed to die of hunger, lack and deprivation.”
Responding to a question, he said, they are yet to receive their pension for the month of February and does not see any justifiable reason for such unnecessary delay”.
With all these, Imolites across political divide are wondering why the Governor is not concerned or has refused to address the inability of the Accountant General to be assertive and pro active in the discharge of his statutory duties and responsibilities.
Meanwhile, one of the Governor’s (name withheld) who confronted this reporter said, “no amount of complaints or reports will make the Governor sack or redeploy the Accountant General, Linus Okafor because he is doing what he was told to do. Besides, he is loyal to the Governor who is his kinsman and the state government. Hence, he will remain in office despite the complaints and public outcry”.
