BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
The cashier of Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Francis Ewa-Ibiam, has been arrested by the police in the state for allegedly misappropriating the sum of N12, 675,000 meant for workers’ imprest and other monthly payments.
The council Chairman, Onyebuchi Ogbadu, confirmed the occurrence to The Point in an interview saying that the cashier was sent to one of the new generation banks (name withheld) along Ogoja Road in Abakaliki on March 23, 2022 to withdraw the money meant to pay the workers but failed to remit it.
According to the council chief, the money was to be used to pay workers’ salary, but Ewa-Ibiam reportedly failed to bring it to the secretariat.
Ogbadu said, “The case is under police investigation and the cashier is in police custody. The money is more than N12 million. It is only the Finance Department and the Police Public Relations Officer that can make comments on the exact figure since the matter is under preliminary investigation so that there wouldn’t be any prejudice.
“The police are seriously investigating the matter, if you publish anything now, those with the money will run away.
“The LGA cashier is in police custody because he was sent to the bank but he did not bring the withdrawn cash back. This is not robbery. The stand of the council is that police have to do their secret investigation and that is also the stand of the Ministry of Local Government. The money was meant for workers’ monthly payment; imprest and other payments, including his own.
“He (suspect) is even still with the schedule. He is not in for money laundering at all.”
According to a worker in the council who does not want his name in print, the cashier came back after the withdrawal and narrated long stories on how he put the money in his car and went across the road at the popular New Market Road to buy a sack to pack it but when he returned to the car, he could not find the money.
The worker, however, said that Ewa-Ibiam’s car doors were not in any way vandalised to suggest theft while he allegedly went to buy a bag.
He disclosed that the actual amount withdrawn by the cashier on the said day was N12, 675,000.
Efforts to reach the police spokesperson in the command for comments on the matter were not successful at press time.
