2nd February, 2021
His Excellency
Senator Hope Uzodinma
Executive Governor
Imo State, Nigeria
C/o The Chief of Staff
Government House Owerri
Your Excellency,
My name is Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha. I am a well known
Socio-Political Crusader in this country, and a former Senior Special
Assistant on Media at the Imo State House of Assembly. I also served
the State at the Legislative Arm of Government as the Senior Special
Assistant on Special Duties. My antecedence is well known, and I have
in no small measure helped in moving the State forward, in many areas
of interest.
Leadership is all about solving problems. Leadership is about getting
results. Your Excellency, you have demonstrated beyond belief that you
are a leader. For example, you have done for Ikenegbu Layout
Extension, specifically, Relief Market road, what previous governments
in the last 22 years could not do. This is just one of the signature
projects of your leadership. Your profile of courage and versatility
in leadership is very encouraging and intimidating.
I am truly impressed. But there are areas that need improvement and adjustments.
My nature as a Socio-Political Crusader does not allow me to keep
quiet when things are going wrong in my environment. On this note,
Your Excellency, I wish to bring to your notice the criminal and
fraudulent activities of one Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu, who is
parading himself as the Auditor General for Local Governments, and how
he loots State and Local Governments funds running into Billions of
Naira.
Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu is the major reason why there are many
uncompleted projects in the state. He is one of the reasons why some
Civil Servants are being owed salary.
Who is Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu?
1. Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu joined Civil Service on the 20th of
March 1979, and was to have retired on the 20th of March 2014. He has
so far spent 42 years in Civil Service. He has been manipulating
successive governments on/with false presentation of his records.
2. He was indicted by the committee report on the verification
exercise (in 2020) which confirmed and exposed the salary padding
racketeering syndicate through manipulation of pay roll system. He and
his cartel (in the Civil Service) diverts hundreds of millions of
naira monthly from Local Government Councils.
3. He was issued a letter of retirement dated 6th January 2020 by the
Head of Service with Directive to handover to the most Senior Director
vide letter NO: HIS/S66/T2/318. This was years after he reportedly
connived with his syndicate comprising of a High Profile Secretary in
Government to issue a circular with forged signature of then Governor
Rochas Okorocha which extended his service after 2014.
4. He once supervised a salary committee headed by Former Auditor
General for State, Mr. Anthony Kamalu, with Former ISIEC Chairman,
Ethelbert Ibeabuchi as Secretary. Their assignment (job) was to pay
roll every Civil Servant in the State. They used a front, Mr. Isaac
Ofoha, who is the HOD Finance, who he handpicked on Grade Level 08.
They lumped various amounts on salary figures of various ministries
and local governments. One of the syndicates include an Accountant in
the Accountant General’s Office who authorizes the funding. The said
Accountant has since confessed to me when I confronted him with facts,
that he acted based on instruction from the Accountant General during
the said period. The excess is pulled and shared in “Ghana Must Go”
bags monthly. The bubble burst when Mr. Anthony Kamalu retired and
they refused to bring in the current Auditor General for State, who
then exposed the fraud.
5. He manipulated and deceived the State Government by appealing to
the Governor to allow him stay up to 7th of June 2020, which His
Excellency unknowingly but graciously and magmimosly approved, vide
Head of Service Letter NO: HIS/S.06/T.2/359 of 30th January 2020.
6. 7th of June 2020 has come and gone, yet Barrister Reuben Osita
Nwosu has refused to handover, Rather, he has continued to parade
himself as the Auditor General for Local Governments.
7. He is today claiming that he retired on the 7th of June 2020, but
Your Excellency gave him Extension of Service, in an Office that has
Experienced Officers, which include, Five Chief Auditors, Two
Directors, Two Deputy Directors whom he has continued to harass,
intimidate, strangulate and malign.
The Question now is; What is Extension of Service in the Imo State
Civil Service?
Extension of Service is simply extending a person’s service to the
State Government beyond the expected Age, Date and Time he would have
ordinarily retired. This clearly means that once a person has formally
retired from a given position in government, his services to the state
government, for that position cannot be extended.
It is therefore an anomaly for Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu to
dubiously and criminally claim that his service as the Auditor General
for Local Government was “Extended” after he admitted he retired on
the 7th of June 2020.
Your Excellency, with due respect, why would a man who has attained
retirement age, or time be retained when other productive and
qualified people are there, with fresh and better ideas, waiting to
fill in the gaps. Is it not unfortunate some persons do not see the
unconstitutionality and illegality in asking a man who has retired
from a particular office to continue holding same office, thereby
stiffening growth, promotion, employment and Human Development?
Your Excellency, as the face of corruption in the local government,
Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu deceived and manipulated the state
government to use consultants in running, disbursement and management
of the Local Government Funds, with the HOD Finance (one Mr. Isaac
Ofoha). He brought consultants who deducts N5 million from each L.G.A
as “service charge”, and there are 27 LGAs in the state. Thereby,
making illegal deductions running into N135 million every month.
What then is the duty and function of the Finance Department of the
Local Government? Clearly, the use of consultants have rendered the
Finance Department moribund.
Another area of corruption which Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu
spearheads, is salary padding. Available Document on the verification
exercise carried out in the 27 Local Government Councils of the state
show much padding is done in the councils and the salary master sheet.
(please see attached document).
Using the month of March 2020 as a base, it was discovered that a
total sum of One hundred and three million, eight hundred and sixty
one thousand, one hundred and fifty eight naira fifty four kobo
(N103,861,158.54K) was actually padded by the various Local Government
Councils for the month of March 2020. There is a systematic and
continuous padding of salaries through manipulation on salary grade
levels, irregular and illegal recruitment and promotion etc.
Therefore, if the padded salary of N103,861,158.54K for the month of
March 2020 is taken as the baseline, a total of yearly average sum of
N1,246,333,902.48K (One billion, two hundred and forty six million,
three hundred and thirty three thousand, nine hundred and two naira
forty eight kobo) would have been frittered away by the fraudulent and
criminal mafia syndicate, comprising of Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu,
as the Auditor General, His salary committee led by Mr. Isaac Ofoha
(HOD Finance) Treasurers and The pay rollers.
Your Excellency, this practice has been going on since Barrister
Reuben Osita Nwosu emerged as the Auditor General for Local Government
in 2011 (ten years running). One can therefore argue confidently that
the local government system has cumulatively lost a whooping sum of
over N13 Billion Naira on padding of salary alone, from Barrister
Reuben Osita Nwosu and his Mafia gang.
Your Excellency, further investigations have since confirmed that
Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu is a Billionaire by every standard no
wonder he is a proud owner of over forty eight choice properties.
1. I have identified some of these properties in Nigeria.
2. He reportedly owns properties in South Africa, United States of
America and London.
3. He reportedly owns Water and Bottling factory at Naze near Owerri.
4. In his Local Government of Ideato South, he acquired a large
expanse of land, reportedly put at over 300 plots.
5. He has landed properties across the state, especially in
Ohaji/Egbema and Owerri-West LGAs, where he reportedly has large
expanse of land, put at over 500 plots.
6. He acquired 2 Hilux SUVs, 4 Ford SUVs and 2 Hummer Buses for the
office. The buses were never delivered. The Hilux vehicles arrived but
later disappeared till date. He is using one of the Ford vehicles in
addition to three other official vehicles. In effect, he should
account for the whereabouts of 8 vehicles in his possession.
I have therefore decided to take the following bold steps and actions
to deal decisively with Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu and his mafia
syndicate, as follows.
1. To respectfully demand that Your Excellency sack Barrister Reuben
Osita Nwosu, without further delay.
2. To demand for the arrest and prosecution of Barrister Reuben Osita
Nwosu, without further delay.
3. To demand for the immediate sack, arrest and prosecution of Mr.
Isaac Ofoha (HOD Finance).
4. To demand for the confiscation of building properties vehicles and
landed properties and companies established and acquired by Barrister
Reuben Osita Nwosu, with local government and state government
diverted funds. I have identified some of these properties.
5. To lead a statewide protest for the arrest and prosecution of
Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu for defrauding the state and local
government system.
6. To involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC,
through a petition and backed up with documented evidences.
Your Excellency, it is because I do not want the State Government to
Misinterpret and Misrepresent my actions and desire to call a spade a
spade by involving the Anti-corruption Agency, in my decision to deal
decisively with the very corrupt Auditor General for Local Government,
Barrister Reuben Osita Nwosu, I have decided to formally alert you by
submitting this very petition.
This is to give Your Excellency the honour, respect, privilege and
opportunity to take action by treating this subject matter.
Your Excellency, I am therefore calling on you to rise to this
challenge and rescue the state from the criminal gang of Barrister
Reuben Osita Nwosu by doing the needful.
Accept my surest regards.
Hon. Dr. Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha FCAI, MKDA
(EKENWOHIA NDIGBO)
