Ohaneze: Misappropriation Of Funds & Abuse Of Office By Key Officers, President, Secretary Sacked

BACK GROUND: this committee was constituted after an executive meeting of the Ohanaeze Youth Council which held at the National Secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo located at 7 Park Avenue G.R.A Enugu on Thursday 21st January 2016. The meeting had in attendance over fifteen members of the National Working Committee and was presided over by Odozi Nwodozi ; the National Vice- President (Anioma) in the absence of Okechukwu Isiguzoro; the President, Chief. Arthur Obiora ; National Deputy President (who called to plead for his absence)

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At the meeting, which was called to review the activities of the body in recent times, allegations of mismanagement of funds and gross abuse of office were levelled against the President (Okechukwu Rowland Isiguzoro), the Secretary (Okwu Nnabuike Emmanuel), the Treasurer ( Eziali Patrick), and the Financial Secretary Miss. Prudence Uchebuakor. After due deliberations, the house decided to give fair hearing to those who have been alleged to have contravened the rules, hence the setting of this committee with Odozi Nwodozi ; National Vice President (Anioma) as the chairman. Other members of the committee include Obinna Achionye ; National Vice-President (Imo), Ibuchukwu Nwodo; Youth Leader (Enugu), Alexander Okemmiri ; Youth Leader (Ebonyi), while Alex Osaka; the Asst. National Publicity Secretary was appointed the Secretary.

The allegations levelled against the officers include:

1. The lack of accountability in the funds of the organisation since August 2014.

2. The personalisation of the organisation’s buses by the President and the Secretary.
3. That the President uses the 14 sitter- bus of the organisation for transport purposes between Aba and Umuahia.

4. That the secretary uses the organisation’s 28 sitter-bus for charter purposes in his native Achi home.

5. That without the consent of the house the President, the National Secretary, and the Assistant National Treasurer Kingsley gave one Mr. John Nwobiala an award as the Igbo Man of the Year 2015 at an occasion held at Umuahia on the 28^th of September 2015.

6. That the National Secretary has confiscated a laptop donated to the body by the late Com. Sen. Uche Chukwumerije.

7. That the National Secretary Okwu Nnabuike Emmanuel has consistently shown lack of capacity in his duties by not keeping records of the proceedings of meetings whenever meetings are held.

8. That for over a year now, the President have not called for a meeting of the organisation, even the one he convened through the Secretary in December 2015, he and the Secretary did not attend.

9. That the President without the consent of the house went ahead to appoint various unknown persons into positions as Ohanaeze Youth Wing Diaspora Coordinator/Ambassador Extra Ordinary and Plenipotentiary (Charles Okereke), Lagos Liaison Coordinator (Chief Thompson Ohia) and three others for Northern Region, Europe and the West Africa.

10. That the Secretary has been deliberately and selectively sending late text messages to member whenever the need arises.

11. That the President and Secretary printed Invites and wrote Letters of Financial Assistance that was widely circulated last year.

12. That the President and Secretary have been going about without the consent of the house to distribute Award letters to people in order to defraud them by making them believe that they are organising an IGBO MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD.

13. That the manner with which the President handled the death of the National Vice-President Ebonyi was discouraging and shameful.

The committee was given four (4) weeks to investigate and submit its reports with recommendations.

The committee commenced action by sending letters of invitation to the four (4) indicted persons through the Administrative Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Mr. Eugene Ibeabuchi. These letters were followed by text messages which stated clearly that the Committee will sit on Thursday 10^th February 2016.

On the 10^th of February 2016, the committee sat with only the treasurer Patrick Ezeali in attendance to defend himself.

The said Patrick Eziali told the committee that from the cheque book given to him by the bank, he has only used two leaves from it. But the President and Secretary have been making withdrawals without his consent by using counter cheques.

The next meeting of the committee was fixed for Thursday 25^th February 2016, and the Financial Secretary Miss. Prudence Uchebuako who for unforeseen reasons could not attend in person gave her defence in a phone call.

In her deposition, she stated that she has been in the dark concerning the financial status of the organisation, as the president left an instruction with the Account Officer in Fidelity Bank not to allow her knows the financial state of the account without his express approval.

That no activity of the organisation has been accounted for since the inauguration of the National Executive Committee in 2014.

The President; Okechukwu Isiguzoro and the Secretary; Okwu Nnabuike Emmanuel did not attend the two seating of the committee neither did they communicate the reason(s) for their absence in writing.

Findings:

• On investigation it was discovered that while the 14 Sitter- bus is been used by the President for commercial transportation purposes in Abia state, the 28 sitter- bus is now grounded in the secretary’s home town of Achi.

• That the President, Secretary and Deputy Treasurer Kingsley Chidozie went about to distribute letters soliciting for funds from both Igbo and non-Igbo in the guise of organising a youth lecture series; a matter which was never discussed in the floor of the house.

• That the accounts of the organisation, has been shaded from other signatories except the president and the secretary.

• That the President, Secretary and Asst. Treasurer has formed a shadow- NEC of the organisation (Comprising of Chuks Ibegbu, Thompson Ohia, Ogbonnaya Obasi, Chika Nzelu among others) with whom they go about extorting and defrauding unsuspecting Nigerian with the promise of making them IGBO MAN OF THE YEAR.

• That the President collected some monies with the purpose of transmitting same to the family of the late National Vice-President (Ebonyi) Mischarck Ukpai, but the monies never got to the family.

• That the Secretary has personalised a laptop computer given to the organisation by the late Sen. Uche Chukwumerije.

• That the president appointed some officers into the NEC without resort to the house; one of them Thompson Ohia called to plead on his behalf, and even subtly threatened that any attempt to rattle the Isiguzoro leadership might spell the end of the body as he (Isiguzoro) has the backing of some influential person(s) within the Ohanaeze Ndigbo hierarchy.

• That the President and Secretary, have been going round on visits and making utterances that have brought shame and ridicule to Ndigbo in general and Ohanaeze Youth Council in particular

Recommendations:

1. That the President; Okechukwu Isiguzoro , the Secretary; Okwu Nnabuike Emmanuel and the Asst Treasurer Kingley Chidozie be suspended from the National Executive Committee of Ohanaeze Youth Council immediately, and banished from all Ohanaeze-Organised activities for the next three (3) months.

2. That Chika Nzelu, Chuks Ibegbu, Ogbonnaya Obasi, Thompson Ohia and others who have joined them in their tour of shame be expelled from all Ohanaeze Ndigbo activities for a period not less than ten (10) years.

3. That the President and Secretary be made to render detailed account of the financial status of the organisation within the next two (2) weeks.

4. That an ad-hoc committee be set up to immediately recover all the properties of the organisation in the custody of all expelled officers.

5. That in order not to create a vacuum, the Deputy President; Mr. Arthur Obiora should take over the leadership of the organisation, while the Assistant Secretary; Mr. Stanley Nwaka steps in as Secretary; these positions will be reviewed after three (3) months.

                          Signed

Odozi Nwodozi                               Ibuchukwu Nwodo

Chairman                                        Member

Obinna Achionye                            Alexander Okemmirui

  Member                                        Member

                      Alexander Osaka

                         Secretary