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Tag: Agbaso

  • Can Agbaso escape impeachment?

    Can Agbaso escape impeachment?

    As the plot to shove aside Imo State Deputy Governor Jude Agbaso thickens, Correspondent OKODILI NDIDI writes on the tribulations of an embattled politician caught in the web on 2015 high wire politics.

     

    The storm is gathering. The state is polarised over the sensitive issue. There is a big question mark on the move by the Imo State House of Assembly to impeach the Imo State Deputy Governor Jude Agbaso. But, to the lawmakers, there is no going back.

    Agbaso is under investigation for an alleged N458 million bribe. The number two citizen has denied the allegation. His supporters have cried foul, alleging that he was being victimised. But the camp of Governor Rocha Okorocha are insisting that Agbaso’s time is up.

    The actions of the House have been dismissed by the supporters of the deputy governor as stage managed to push Agbaso out of the way, ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    The proponents of this view were not swayed by the fact that the ad-hoc committee set up by the House to investigate the financial allegations against Agbaso by a contractor handling road projects in the state indicted Agbaso of the crime and subsequently proceeded to impeach him.

    Agbaso, a former Commissioner of Works and Transport, was accused of abusing the privileges of his position by corruptly enriching himself.

    But in a spirited attempt to belittle the weight of the accusations brought against him and to curry public sympathy, the deputy governor said that his travail was politically motivated. He alleged that certain people were eager to get him out of the way so that his boss would not be challenged in his second term bid.

    He disclosed that the governor, who he accused of witch-hunting him, signed an agreement with his elder brother, Chief Martins Agbaso, to serve only one term and handover to his brother who gave him (Okorocha) the platform to emerge as governor in 2011.

    Agbaso also accused Okorocha of inducing the members of the House with financial gratifications to move against him. “The contractor that has been falsely accusing me was actually nominated by Okorocha, who approved the payment of N1.3billion to the contractor for a job not yet done”, he added.

    The deputy governor’s brother, Chief Martin Agbaso, described the deputy governor as a victim of political manipulations, ahead of the 2015.

    “We are a hard working family and do not indulge in fraud. So, I can state authoritatively that the deputy governor, who is my blood brother, is framed up because of politics. He could not have committed the offence for which he is vilified”, he maintained.

    Hard as the deputy governor tries to extricate himself from the allegation, public interest in the ongoing probe of the contract scam by the House has continued to heighten with a call on the lawmakers to ensure that, if Agbaso was culpable of the financial crime, he should be impeached and prosecuted.

    The House of Assembly, in a swift response to the deputy governor’s claim, restated that he was indicted by the report of the ad-hoc committee, which independently investigated the allegation against him.

    In a statement signed by the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon Acho Ihim, the House insisted that Agbaso was merely wiping up sentiment by employing cheap political blackmail to divert public attention from the issues of embezzlement and abuse of office.

    The Commissioner of Information, Mr. Chinedu Offor, also described his statements as diversionary and unfounded.

    “His Excellency, the Deputy Governor, should face the serious issue of corruption raised by the ad-hoc committee, which is investigating him over an allegation of N458 million scam, instead of trivializing the issue. Governor Okorocha does not interfer with the autonomy of the House and cannot control the on-going probe”, he said.

    Although Okorocha has kept mum on the probe, he is said to be embittered by the alleged actions of his deputy, who he trusted with the Works Ministry to give him a sense of belonging.

    A source close to the governor, who pleaded anonymity, said that “the governor took his deputy like a younger brother and had to allow him certain privileges, which saw him emerged as the Works Commissioner. This position made it possible for him to negotiate for the award and payment of contracts, but he seemed to have abused the privileges”.

    However, the travail of Agbaso started when a construction Firm, JPROS International Nig. Ltd, abandoned the construction of Sam Mbakwe Road, after receiving full payment for the job.

    The protests that trailed it prompted the House to set up a six-man committee headed by Hon. Simeon Iwunze to investigate the allegations of fraud and indiscriminate award of contract against the deputy governor.

    During the investigation, the Managing Director of the company, which earlier abandoned the three kilometer road after receiving payment, Joseph Dina, confessed that he paid N458 million to the deputy governor as inducement to get more road contracts.

    After series of meetings between the deputy governor and the contractor, the ad-hoc committee, in its report, insisted that the deputy g`overnor has a case to answer in the N458 million contract scam

    Even, some top government officials who watched the video tape, concluded that, with what they had seen, it will be difficult for the deputy governor to wriggle out.

    Many individuals and groups have called on the House to live up to its billing and resist any pressure to abandon the probe.

    The Imo State branch of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) expressed worry over the development. Its Chairman, Eze Duruiheoma (SAN), said that “the on-going indictment of the deputy governor by the House shows that all is not well in the state.

    “Something is definitely wrong with a system where the governor approves the payment of a whole contract sum without the certificate of performance and what is more worrisome is the speed with which the government embarked on new projects without designs and budgetary allocations.

    “The government has commenced one thousand road projects without designs and asked contractors to execute them and majority of those projects were not captured in the state budgets and today, they have not been paid for. Today, everyone has seen what we are talking about the government, which refused to pay indigenous contractors, but paid a Lebanese over a billion naira for a job not done”.

    The PDP chieftain however, clarified that the party is more concerned with the volume of fraud that was unearthed by the House than the impeachment of the deputy governor. “Who knows how many of such illegal payments have been made to contractors that have not been discovered? The system is truly sick. The House should dig deeper and it will discover other mind boggling fraud perpetrated by Okorocha’s government”.

    Another group, the Conference of Imo Progressive Youths (CIPY), supported the move by the House to probe Agbaso.

    The group, in a statement signed by its secretary, Wilson Ajawara, and zonal coordinators; Jude Oduoma (Orlu Zone),Ifeanyi Onweyiajoa (Okigwe Zone), and Ike Njoku (Owerri Zone), urged the lawmakers to resist pressure from politicians to jettison the probe.

    “Any callous criminality against Imo State is unacceptable to us. The use of our mandate to rob us is condemnable and we condemn it in totality”, added the group.

    The group charged the legislators to remain focused in the discharge of their constitutional duties, stressing that, “it is the responsibility of the House of Assembly to check the excesses of the other arms of government, hence, our clarion call for the lawmakers to rise to the occasion”.

    The Owerri Zone Political Forum (OZOPOF) called for an unbiased investigation to unravel the true position of the matter to ensure that no one is punished unjustly.

    The chairman of the forum, Chief Charles Amadi, who led other members of the group in solidarity to the Agbaso’s family, said that, “although they are not in support of corruption, the lawmakers should ensure that no one is punished unjustly, but should extend the investigation to every party mentioned in the allegation”.

    A political analyst, Dr Temple Uzoaru, submitted that a financial crime has been allegedly committed by the deputy governor. “Whatever agreement the Agbaso family had with Governor Okorocha on 2015 is not the business of Imo people. What we are demanding is accountability from our leaders. We are watching to see how this whole drama will end. There should not be any scapegoat in the matter. All parties involved should be brought to book”.

     

  • Imo House to serve Agbaso through media

    Imo House to serve Agbaso through media

    The Imo State House of Assembly, yesterday adopted alternative means of serving the Deputy Governor, Jude Agbaso, with an impeachment notice after he had evaded service.

    The House unanimously adopted the motion to serve the deputy governor through newspaper publications.

    The motion was moved by Mike Ndubuaku of Orlu Constituency and seconded by Acho Ihim of Okigwe Constituency.

    The motion became necessary after the Clerk of the House, Chris Duru, told the House that all his efforts to serve Agbaso with the impeachment notice were abortive.

    The Speaker, Benjamin Uwajumogu, warned that after the measure, the House would commence the impeachment, if the deputy governor refuses to appear before it.

  • Agbaso: Why they want to shove me aside

    Agbaso: Why they want to shove me aside

    Imo State Deputy Governor Jude Agbaso is fighting the political battle of his life. He is being probed by the House of Assembly for alleged bribery. In this interview, Agbaso explains the circumstances leading to his travails. He describes himself as victim of a high level political intrigues ahead of the 2015 governorship election. Deputy Editor, Nation’s Capital, YOMI ODUNUGA, met him.

     

    Is it true that you have resigned as thedeputy governor, following the allegation of corrupt practices leveled against you by a contractor?

    It has become absolutely necessary that I speak to the people of Imo State who freely, a little less than two years ago, gave me their mandate that ushered me in as the deputy governor. I owe them a duty at this point in time and in the history of our state to let them know what has actually transpired. It is a known fact that the media is awash with stories of the goings on in Imo State. First, let me start by addressing the issue of the resignation of the deputy governor of Imo State. Let me put it on record and very categorical too that at no time have I contemplated resigning as the deputy governor of Imo State. As I stated earlier, the mandate was freely and massively given me by the people of this state. So, I never resigned, I never intend to resign and I will continue to serve the people of Imo State until the mandate they give me elapses.

    So, why is the impeachment axe dangling over your head and what do you have to say about the controversy surrounding the payment of N458 million into your account as alleged by the contractor?

    On the allegation that I am being impeached by the Imo State House of Assembly bothering on the issue or allegation that I received a bribe to the tune of N458 million., I want to also seize this opportunity to state that at no time did I demand N458 million or any sum of money from any contractor whatsoever in Imo State. And at no time did the contractor, Joseph Dina of JPRO, pay me the cumulative sum of N458 million. Let me tell you how the whole thing started. JPRO is the contractor that is working on the present day Sam Mbakwe Road. I never knew the construction company or the owners of the company. They are a company that was introduced to the state by Governor Rochas Okorocha who gave the permission for a contract of the magnitude of N1.5 billion. Thereafter, when I was away on a trip to India, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, apply for the final approval of the job so that the governor would give the final approval for the job of N1.5 billion. This was communicated to the governor who gave the approval but went beyond that to give approval for the payment of N1.5 billion to the contractor via the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Works. Incidentally, his approval was communicated to the Commissioner of Finance who, instead of routing the money through the coffers of the Ministry of Works for onward certification and raising of vouchers to pay to the construction company after due processes would have been fulfilled, the money was routed through the office of the Accountant-General and paid directly to the contractor. So, at no pint did I give approval for the payment of the money. At no point did I communicate the approval for the payment of the money. At no point did I pay the money to the contractor. So, the question that comes to mind is: why would this contractor pay me N458 million? For doing what?

    When you met the contractor at the House of Assembly during the probe, did you confront him?

    I heard from him when I went to House that he paid me the money in anticipation of the jobs that I will offer to him in the local government. I was the commissioner in the Ministry of Works and the commissioner in the Ministry of Works never issues jobs in the local government areas. The chairmen of the Local Government Areas issue jobs. I never issue any job, till date, any job in any local government. So, how could this contractor have paid me in anticipation of something I wasn’t in a position to do? Anyhow, to cut the long story short, how could he have said that I conveyed instructions to him via SMS through his phone in the month of April and June 2012, stating the company, the account number and the bank to pay the sum of N235 million and N133 million? I state here also, categorically, and the record can be retrieved from the telecommunications service provider for the phone I use, that at no point did I convey to this man, Joseph Dina, via SMS to pay me, to any account or any bank, any sum of money whatsoever. So, his story is completely false and ludicrous. It is intended to malign my person. Since they said the money had been paid to the bank, I think the onus is to call on the investigative agents to look at this account. N458m is not N458,000 and cannot vanish into thin air. They should look for the money there. It must be there. If it is not there, they can put a tracer on the money. It can be traced to the last account that it went into. With forensics, they can follow the trail of that money into the pockets of who took the money. But my dear people of Imo State, I state here one more time, I never asked for the money, I never received the money and I do not have any thing to do with it.

    If you now deny any complicity in the bribery allegation, why would you think anybody would link you to something as damaging as this?

    This whole thing stems from the various players’ agitation as to the situation in 2015. I have heard stories about speculations about who runs in 2015 and who does not. I know there is subsisting agreement, which is in the public domain in Imo State, between my elder brother who happens to be a politician, Chief Martin Agbaso, and our dear governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, to hand over to the people of Owerri Zone by 2015. I have heard that this has everything to do with it. But I can tell you it has nothing to do with the person of the deputy governor as we speak. And I think that, sooner rather than later, this whole story would be unraveled. Let me state that I have maintained a robust, cordial relationship with His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha.

    You have linked the current crisis to the pact on 2015 in Imo State. Can you expatiate?

    My brother has spoken about the agreement between them, that the governor would hand over to the people of Owerri Zone in 2015. The governor had spoken of the one term agreement to hand over to the people of Owerri in 2015. Why it is overheating the system in 2013 is what I couldn’t answer. I am caught in the web between these powerful political players in the state.

    When you were invited by the House of Assembly, what were the questions asked and how did you respond to those questions?

    The questions centered on the allegations that I talked about and I also gave the same answers that I just highlighted earlier. I stated, in very clear terms, that at no time was I offered any money by the contractor through any bank account through any means.

    Has the governor called you to listen to your own part of the story?

    I had spoken with the governor in the presence of the entire Imo State exco on this allegation and we talked about it. I expressed my innocence.

    What did the governor say?

    He said he believed that I am innocent and that, if the House seeks to investigate, then, the House should be allowed to investigate the matter.

    We learnt that you have not been to your office this week, how true is that?

    I am not aware that my office has been locked. I was in my office on Friday and it was not locked.

    How true is it that the governor has decided to intervene on the matter by calling on the House to stop the impeachment move against you?

    I am not also aware of that. There is conflicting information emanating from all angles. This one you have said is totally strange to me.

    Would you say the House has given you the benefit of fair hearing by preparing the ground for an impeachment motion against you?

    It appears to me that the House is not prepared to give me fair hearing.

    Are you still part of APGA or APC?

    I was elected under the platform of APGA. The APC is in the future. We have not got there yet. When it becomes a party, we will know who is APC and who is APGA.

     

  • Agbaso’s indictment not political, say lawmakers

    The Imo State House of Assembly yesterday said its indictment of the Deputy Governor, Sir Jude Agbaso, for allegedly receiving N458million kickback from a contractor was not politically-motivated.

    It said media reports that the probe was over the 2015 election was wrong.

    The House, in a statement by its Chairman, Committee on Information, Acho Ihim, said it was “mischievous, sacrilegious and cheap blackmail” for anybody or group to divert attention from the issues at stake.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the travails of Sir Jude Agbaso have nothing to do with 2015 rivalry, ethnic and zonal politics or indeed whipping up undue sentiments.

    “The fact of the matter remains that the Report of the Special Committee indicted the deputy governor.

    “The Imo State House of Assembly will, therefore, not allow external forces to influence its constitutional duties. Imo must be better,” the statement said.

    The House said a State and Local Government Joint Monitoring Committee was established about six months ago to monitor the construction of roads in the three senatorial zones.

    The committee, led by Stan Dara, submitted its report last month.

    The report, the House said, indicted three construction companies.

    Following the indictment, the House said it set up another Special Adhoc Committee to find out why the companies allegedly failed or abandoned their projects.

    The companies were invited to the House to explain.

    The House said the Managing Director of one of the firms “confessed that they abandoned their site because Agbaso demanded and collected N458 million from him.”

    “The committee thereafter invited Agbaso, and from the interview, the House found enough evidence and collaboration,” the House said.

    Agbaso denied media reports that he resigned, saying the allegation was not only false but politically-motivated to malign his person.

    He said the contractor was introduced by Governor Rochas Okorocha.

    The deputy governor claimed that he was a victim of the political games being played by powerful forces over who becomes governor in 2015.

    He spoke to reporters in Owerri at the weekend amid speculations that he was denied access to his office and being pressured to resign as a face-saving measure.

    Agbaso denied the stories, saying he was on his desk on Friday.

    The deputy governor described the impeachment threat against him by the House of Assembly as ill-informed and unfair.

    Agbaso called on the relevant agencies to investigate the allegation.

    He said: “Let me put it straight and, very categorical too, that at no time, have I contemplated resigning as Imo State deputy governor.

    “As I stated earlier, the mandate was freely and massively given to me by the people of this state.

    “So, I never resigned, I never intend to resign and I will continue to serve the people, until the mandate they gave me elapses.

    “I want to also seize this opportunity to state that at no time did I demand N458million or any sum of money from any contractor in Imo State.

    “And at no time did the contractor, Joseph Dina of JPRO, pay me N458 million.

    “JPRO is the contractor working on the present day Sam Mbakwe road.

    “I never knew the construction company or its owners.

    “The company was introduced to the state by Governor Rochas Okorocha, who approved a contract of N1.5billion.

    “Since they said the money had been paid to the bank, I think the onus is to call on investigative agents to trace the payment; N458million is not N458, 000 and it cannot vanish into thin air.

    “They should look for the money there (in the account the contractor claimed he paid into). It must be there.

    “If it is not there, they can track the money. It can be traced to the last account that it went into.

    “With forensics, they can trace the money into the pockets of those who took it.

    “But my dear people of Imo State, I state here one more time, I never asked for the money, I never received the money and I do not have any thing to do with it.

    “The other question is why all these things about bribery and impeachment at this moment?

    “This whole thing stems from the various players’ agitation as to the situation in 2015.

    “I have heard speculations about who runs in 2015 and who does not.

    “I have heard that this has everything to do with it. But I can tell you it has nothing to do with the person of the deputy governor as we speak.

    “And I think that, sooner rather than later, this whole story would be unravelled.

    “Let me state that I have maintained a robust, cordial relationship with Governor Rochas Okorocha.”