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Magnus Eze, Enugu
Ahead of the submission of report of committee set up by Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma to reorganise parastatals and agencies in the state; the Government has lauded the Commander of the Imo State Civil Guard Corps, Martin Ekeh, for identifying fraud in the agency’s payroll.
Personnel of the agency have not been paid salaries since July 2019, even as speculation was rife that the Government may merge it with another agency as part of the ongoing reorganisation of establishments.
Acting Permanent Secretary/Accountant General of the State, Dr. Gladys Mbagwu, had in a letter to the Commander, dated July 20, 2020, which was obtained by Daily Sun, praised the steps so far taken to bring down the wage bill of the establishment and commended him for the “brave action.”
She, therefore, urged Ekeh and the staff to continue to discharge their duties pending the submission/implementation of the report of the committee on reorganization of parastatals and agencies.
Daily Sun gathered that Ekeh, who was recently appointment Commandant General, had in his presentation to the reorganisation committee, “detected deserters, absconders; unproductive staff, as well as demystified payroll fraudsters.”
His action, has allegedly reduced the agency’s wage bill from N27million to N18million, thereby saving over N8million from the monthly salary paid under his predecessor.
One Iheanacho Ikechukwu recently raised allegations of salary padding against the Commander, accusing him of increasing his salary from “N92,535.14 of grade level 15 step 4 to a whopping sum of N392,277.40 of no grade level; an amount bigger than that of a permanent secretary in the state’s civil service.”
However, it was gathered that the increase in Ekeh’s salary followed his appointment as Commandant General from the post of Commandant by the Government.
