|
|
Group kicks over Mimiko N1.08billion ICT fraud... Petitions EFCC |
A group, Concerned Ondo Citizens have, through a petition sent to the EFCC criticized Dr Rahaman Mimiko, the governor of Ondo state over a sum of N1.08 billion approved for the implementation of the Residency card project which according to the group was a conduit pipe.
According to the petition written by the group and a copy made available to The Rocket, the approval was hurriedly done on the 29th of December, 2011 on the said date no executive committee session was held and that the said money had been fraudulently mismanaged.
The petition reads: “In the purported 18th meeting, it was said that over N1 billion should be released for the Kaadi Igbeayo project. It is our sincere concern that the state government, through the State Information Technology Agency, (SITA) has been using the project to transfer the fund of the state into private hands. In a letter with reference number ICT/256/VOL II/92 dated January 3rd, 2012, signed by Mr Tunde Yadeka, and received by one Alhaji Haruna, the commissioner for finance was mandated to release a sum of N364,860 million for maintenance, services and cables.
“Our concern stems from the urgency in the way the letter was treated even when the budget for the fiscal year was still in process. Apart from that, the letter was written, processed and approved the same day.
“ In an extraction of the minute of the purported executive meeting, the Secretary to the state government acted in a hurry despite the protest from members of the cabinet to the effect that the project should be appraised to ascertain its viability”
The group positioned that the state has not felt the effect of N5 billion that has since been released for the project saying it needs to be investigated before tax payers money will be further committed into it.
Meanwhile, a government house source has revealed that the project was actually awarded to the younger brother of the governor who according to the source have been executing contract on behalf of the governor.
“The project attracts huge amount of money because it will be difficult to unravel the fraud behind it. If you are priviledge to read the state Audit report, you will know that this people have killed us”, the source said. |
|
|
