Gburugburu, LG Chairmen sweat as Mbah orders them to account for squandered N5.1 billion Special Funds

Meetings upon meetings are being held in Enugu to find ways to douse the simmering tension occasioned by a recent order issued to all the Local Council Chairmen in the state to account for their share of the N5.1 billion special funds received from the Federal Government between April and May 2023.

Mbah, who is clearly on a mission to quickly dismantle the vestiges of former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s influence and legacies in Enugu, has given the LGA chairmen the marching orders to account for the N300 million each of them allegedly transferred out of the special funds to accounts purportedly for the benefit of the former governor and his cronies.

Recall that on May 16, 2023, Enugu Monitor exclusively reported that then Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had ordered the Chairmen to each return the sum of N300 million out of the N475 million due to each of them from the special fund. Ugwuanyi, this paper learned, allegedly ordered the chairmen to write cheques in the name of the newly established State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), Igbo Eno, Udenu Local Government Area, and hand them over to the then Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Vitus Uzoh.

As at the time this story was published, only Udenu and Ezeagu Local Government Areas had issued the cheques as ordered by the governor, while the rest were showing some reluctance, apparently because of the few days Ugwuanyi had as governor then.

Although Peter Mbah, then Governor-elect, was supposed to get a share of the money, ostensibly to help him prosecute his case at the tribunal, fresh developments suggest he may have been excluded from this largesse.

Reports reaching Enugu Monitor indicate that Governor Mbah has mounted intense pressure on the council chairmen to account for the money. This, it was learned, was the reason behind the removal of Hon Solomon Onah as Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), last week. 

Onah, who was replaced by Hon Ejike Udeh, Chairman of Nkanu East Local Government Area, was the alleged arrowhead of the grand scheme.

Enugu Monitor gathered that it was the Chairman of Uzo Uwani Local Government Area, Hon Chukwudi Nnadozie, that blew the lid on the deal by ratting on Ugwuanyi and his colleague to Governor Mbah, an act that made the governor reward him with the position of Vice Chairman of ALGON after the ousting of the Onah-led leadership.

To douse the tension, our source revealed that Governor Ugwuanyi has called several meetings with a view to containing the snowballing crises. Most of the meetings, including the most recent one held on July  5, 2023, at the Governor’s residence at the Zoo Estate, Enugu, were attended by Former Chief of Staff, Dr. Uzoh and Most of the LGA Chairmen.

It was reported that former Governor Ugwuanyi was worried about the intransigent stance of Governor Mbah and found it difficult to believe that someone he risked so much to make governor could turn against him so quickly.

Mbah’s unyielding stance, it was our source further revealed, has given Ugwuanyi sleepless nights and he has been doing his best to ensure that he does not just appear to have fallen out with his successor so soon, but also avert possible situations that would lead to his having to be made to account for squandered LGA funds before the anti-crime agencies.

On their part, many of the council chairmen, especially those who have been nursing ambitions for second terms, are worried that their political journey may likely be eclipsed as a result of the brewing disagreement with Governor Mbah.