2 Ekiti workers in police net over N7m fraud
Two civil servants in Ekiti State are being investigated by police over a N7 million fraud. The two, whose names were given as Mrs Cecilia Akinleye, a grade level 9 officer and Mr Bello Olajide, a grade level 10 officer, were handed over to the police yesterday following a directive by Governor Ayo Fayose, that a thorough investigation be conducted.
It was gathered that an audit of the finances of the state’s Central Medical Store, showed that over N7 million was missing from its account.
Akinleye, a cashier in the agency, and prime suspect in the matter, had accused Olajide, the accountant, of collecting the money from her on various dates beginning from April this year.
She said before she started giving out the money to Olajide, few days after her posting as the cashier, she informed a fellow worker, Mrs Adekemi Ojuawo, that her boss asked her to borrow him the agency’s money in her care.
“Mrs Ojuawo warned me against doing this, but because he is my boss, when he requested for the money again, I obliged him. I know this is against civil service rule. The first money he took from me was N100,000; that was on April 16, 2015. He collected money from me 36 times. The least he took was N50,000 and the highest was N300,000,” she said.
She
further
alleged
that sometimes Olajide would take drugs on credit from the store and ask her to write official receipt to cover the payment.
But Olajide denied ever taking money from the woman, saying some of the dates listed by Akinleye, were public holidays like May 29, 2015.
To this, Akinleye replied that Olajide called her a day before that to go give him the money on Democracy Day, somewhere in Ado-Ekiti.
Olajide, further in his defence, said he was on leave from early May to June this year and that it was when he resumed and was asked to audit the account that he discovered the fraud.
He said he drew the attention of Akinleye to the anomaly and that for three weeks, Akinleye was dodging the issue, so he had to report to his superior.
Officials of the Ministry of Health, including general manager of the store and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Folake Olomojobi, said it was because the people were not complying with extant rule of paying all daily proceeds to the banks that the fraud occurred.
The suspects were later handed over to the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Etop John James.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Alberto Adeyemi, said the police were investigating the matter. Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has urged members of the National Assembly from the state to support the nomination of former governor Kayode Fayemi, as minister.
The governor made the call while meeting with members of the Federation of Ekiti Student Union (FEESU) in his office.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, the governor said the Ekiti project belongs to all and that everything must be done to support it.
The governor, a PDP chieftain, was quoted as saying: “Ekiti is my priority, so I call on all the House of Representatives members and senators that went to Abuja from here, to support Fayemi. Some people petitioned the National Assembly, stating how Fayemi incurred huge debts for Ekiti State, but I have told the members not to do that.
“It is God that judges people, not us. You must support him. They should not go to the Senate and oppose Kayode Fayemi, no, they must never do that. An Ekiti man is an Ekiti man. I appeal to everybody; you must support him.”
He charged the students to shun acts that could mar their future.