by crossriverwatch admin
There are indications that members of the Obudu Legislative Council will tomorrow commence impeachment proceedings against the Local Government Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Ikwen for obtaining a loan without approval from the House.
The Councilors in a charged session on Thursday last week empaneled a committee to meet with the Obudu Branch Manager of First Bank Plc. to confirm whether the Chairman has already obtained a loan for which he was seeking retrospective approval from the House.
The House also resolved that, if the information is confirmed, they will immediately commence impeachment proceedings against the Chairman.
Crossriverwatch reported last week that the Obudu Local Government Chairman in a letter addressed to the Councilors in Chambers last week, requested the House to approve an overdraft of N6m for him to procure an award of excellence billed to be presented to him at the prestigious Transcorp hotel by a private company, Grassroot Leadership Center in Abuja on March 8, 2013.
The Chairman in return did not deny the report but alleged that the Councilors demanded for the sum of N1.6m for them to facilitate the approval of the overdraft.
In a memo that was published by crossriverwatch, the Leader of the House, Hon. Ugar Andeshi, said the N1.6m was meant to facilitate the transportation and logistics requirements for the councilors who are also billed to accompany the Chairman.
In a chart with the Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Martin Orim this evening, he told crossriverwatch that: “The committee has not submitted its report. But I spoke with one of the members of the committee who informed me that they met with the First Bank manager on Thursday after our sitting and the manager confirmed that the Chairman had already collected the loan. The manager also said that the Chairman later came to him to tell him there was crisis around the transaction and he has returned part of the money while he is making arrangements to pay the rest.
“That is criminal. I have also called the Clerk of the House, Mrs. Akade to provide the letter for the approval of the overdraft that was sent to us, which was read on the floor of the House on Thursday and the lady says the letter is missing. The woman is a criminal. The Chairman has paid her to sneak the letter away. I have told her she wants to end her career in Obudu if she does not provide that letter tomorrow. With all these things that are piling together, she and the Chairman will go together. We will receive the report of the committee formally tomorrow but the way the situation is going, the Chairman will not escape it”. He said.
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