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The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has sworn-in Alhaji Imonofi Osumah Inusa as chairman of Etsako West Local Government Area after Yakubu Musa, erstwhile chairman was removed over his involvement in a N46 million fraud in the council.
Obaseki, while swearing in Alhaji Osumah at Government House, in Benin City, said investigations by a panel constituted by the state government revealed that the former LG boss, Musa, was engaged in fraudulent activities and lacked ability to supervise the staff of the Council.
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, hails from Etsako West LGA.
Governor Obaseki maintained that his administration has zero-tolerance for corruption and negligence of duty, noting that no matter the developmental efforts by the state government, the local government must perform their duties before the state can be highly rated in terms of development.
“With the permission and authorisation of the Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA), we dropped Yakubu Musa for engaging in corrupt activities. He was dropped based on the investigation conducted following reports and observations at the monthly Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) meetings I preside over.”
Obaseki said through the monthly JAAC meetings, he discovered that Musa bloated the council’s wage bill to the extent that his LGA’s bill was in excess of that of Oredo Local Government Area, which has the largest workforce.
He said investigation showed that the former chairman was negligent in his duties and couldn’t account properly for the council’s funds.
The new chairman, Alhaji Osumah, thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged loyalty and commitment to work with the governor in developing the council area.
On September 16, a panel of inquiry was constituted to investigate the alleged diversion of funds in Etsako West Local Government Council, after the case was discovered at the JAAC meetings.
The panel was headed by S.E Omorodion with other members including Mr. B.S. Kadiri. Isaac Sanu, Mr. F. Ediagbonya, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Local Government and Mr. S.O Obakpolor, who served as the panel secretary.
The panel’s findings revealed that over N46 million was paid to two ghost workers by a staff employed by the erstwhile chairman.
