Kogi government has open up on the death of a director in the civil service, Alphonsus Ameh.
Ameh a Grade Level 17 officer in the Kogi State Pension Board, according to reports died barely three days after receiving sack letter.
But on Thursday, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Yahaya Bello, Petra Onyegbule said Ameh was sacked due to his alleged involvement in fraudulent diversion of N225,936,425million pension fund.
Onyegbule, told newsmen in Lokoja, that the late Ameh and four others were fired.
The governor’s aide named the accused as Mrs. Florence Adewunmi, Chairperson of the Pensions Board; Mrs. Haruna Amina Mudi, Director Accounts; Mr. Abdul Musa, Deputy Director Accounts; and Mr. Itodo Gabriel, Head of Accounts.
Onyegbule said a nine-man Senior Management Committee headed by Mr. Aiyedero Jethro, the Ag. Permanent Secretary as Chairman; and Mr. John Ekele, Ag. DAF as the Secretary, was set up by the government to look into the matter.
She recalled that an emergency meeting of the committee was held on May 4, 2017, which drew the attention of the members to the report from the State Intelligence Bureau and the review of the same by State Auditor-General, Mr. Yusuf Okala.
She said the report was on a case of misappropriation of Pensioners’ fund, forwarded to the office of the Head of Civil Service by the Secretary to the State Government where the Governor had directed that immediate action be taken appropriately.
“In the report, the auditor general recommended the immediate dismissal of all civil servants indicted in the police report.
“Based on the personal confession by Mr. Alphonsus Ameh to the State Intelligence Bureau and that he commenced repayment, an attestation that he committed the fraud.
“The late Ameh confirmed to the committee that he received a sum of N2 million as his own share of the looted pensioners’ fund, which he thought was a Christmas bonus.
“Ameh also confirmed that he had refunded part of the money, and pleaded that the committee should tamper justice with mercy considering the numbers of years he had put in the service.
“The committee said that since Ameh affirmed his participation in the sharing of the misappropriated fund, coupled with the fact that he (Ameh) had commenced refunding part of the money, confirmed that he was guilty of the offence.
“The committee added that Ameh has violated the Public Service Rule (PSR) No. 4, section 04401 No. VIII, XI and XII, liable to dismissal from the Service, and therefore, recommended that the punishment stipulated by the PSR should be upheld as a deterrent to other civil servants.
“It is on the recommendation of the committee that Mr. Aphonsus Yahaya Ameh, and four others were sacked in June 2017, because a Case of criminal conspiracy and theft was established against them,” Petra said.
