By Ekene Okoye
Governor Chukwuma Soludo's N20,000 transport largess intended for forty (40) workers in each of the 21 local government areas of Anambra State last Tuesday has been diverted by Barr. Vin Ifeanyi Ezeaka, Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC), sparking outrage among the workers who were denied the funds.
Governor Soludo had during the
opening ceremony of the maiden edition of the Local Government Service
Commission week, held at the Women’s Development Center in Awka, announced the
transport largess for the workers present.
He asked Barr. Ezeaka about the number of workers invited from each local government, to which Ezeaka responded 40, despite only 30 workers being invited. Nonetheless, Governor Soludo declared a transport allowance of N20,000 for each of the 40 invitees. However, discrepancies soon emerged as many workers in the hall did not receive the promised funds.
Barr. Ezeaka had claimed that
the workers came on their own, even though each local government area had
sponsored their members' trips. This contradiction raised suspicions about the
mismanagement of the allocated resources. It was puzzling that Governor
Soludo's instructions were not followed, despite the immediate provision of
funds for 40 persons per local government council by Hon. Tony Collins Nwabunnwanne,
the Commissioner.
Barr. Ezeaka had instructed
each local government to bring 30 persons, not 40, thereby potentially profiting
from the excess allocation. This manipulation amounted to a profit of N200,000
for each local government area. Despite the actual number of staff attending
from each local government being between 20 to 25 persons, the Chairman did not
disburse the funds to these attendees. Instead, he produced a list of
designated attendees, which contradicted Governor Soludo’s directive that every
staff member in the hall should receive N20,000.
Consequently, those whose names
were not on Ezeaka's list but attended in place of others who were absent were
denied the largess. This was particularly unjust, given that the highest
attendance from any council did not exceed 25 persons.
It is worth noting that the
LGSC Chairman had previously tasked each Head of Local Government
Administration (HLGA) to pay N200,000 in preparation for the LGSC week and
later requested an additional N300,000, totaling N500,000 from each local
government area. Each local government council also provided buses and
entertainment for their staff. Despite these provisions, Barr. Ezeaka
misrepresented the situation to Governor Soludo and denied the workers in the
hall their transport funds.
Local government area workers
who were denied the largess expressed their shock and disappointment. They
lamented the missed opportunity to thank Governor Soludo for his generosity.
Even though the total number of staff at the function was under 500, and
Governor Soludo had provided for 840 persons, many did not receive the promised
transport money.
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