By CHARLES IWUOHA

Association of Ebonyi indigenes Socio-cultural in Diaspora (AElSClD) has alleged that there were desperate moves by the Ebonyi State government to raise ₦1bn to bribe the tribunal judges in favour of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates whose victories were being challenged by opposition political parties at various election petitions tribunals in Abuja.

An impeccable sources among noble governance and accountability group alleged that the government of Rt. Hon. Francis Nwifuru plans to raise the N1 billion by divert N80M from the monthly allocation of each of the 13 Local Government Areas in the State.

A statement on Sunday signed by Ambassador Paschal Oluchukwu, President of the AElSClD Worldwide, accused the State government of planning to use its ongoing verification of staff of the 13 Local Governments as a smokescreen to delay payment of salaries to local government workers.

"We therefore believe the suggestion in some quarters that this is ostensibly meant to keep the Local Government system in the State very busy and then divert the attention of the already starving Council Area workers,” Oluchukwu said.

Recall that AEISCID had recently warned, in a statement, about plots by senator David Umahi, his successor and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Led-government in Ebonyi State to compromise the outcomes of the various election petitions cases pending before the Governorship, National and State Assembly Elections Tribunals in Abuja.

“This is despite the fact that the President of Nigeria's Court of Appeal had seen a very good reason to relocate the Tribunal to Abuja due to alleged fear of both insecurity and inducement.

“We learnt that the Ebonyi Governor, Nwifuru, the NASS members and the party's leadership and the Umahi brothers have been frequenting the Tribunals with sources alleging it's all in their desperate overtures to access and possibly compromise the judges.

“They and their Lawyers have continued to boast that the course of justice would be ultimately hijacked by their Party,” Oluchukwu was further quoted as saying.

The accountability group, while alerting various financial monitoring groups in Nigeria and the anti-graft agencies, including the EFCC and ICPC, to beam their searchlight on the alleged plans to divert funds from the state's coffers;

Urged various security agencies to live up to their responsibilities, especially their Lordships at the Tribunals to resist any form of offer or inducement whatsoever coming from the APC in Ebonyi State and toe the path of justice.

“We feel that in the matters before it, beginning from the disputed Presidential elections to the National Assembly, Governorship and 36 State's Houses of Assembly seats in the country, the Nigerian Judiciary should have proven itself not to be a puppet of the executive arm of government.

“This is even more so when politicians dubiously manipulated elections across the length and breadth of the Nigerian, State and taunted their political opponents to ‘go to Court’ if you don’t like the outcome.

“AEISCID wishes to join its voice with those of the over 30 Civil Society Organizations who are demanding the arrest and prosecution of Senator Umahi, indeed, all the INEC Staff uncovered to have colluded, aided and abetted the allegation of forgery of INEC's BVAS report for Ebonyi South Senatorial district,” the statement read in part.

According to the statement, the group Commended the Labour Party (LP), candidate for Ebonyi South Senatorial zone, Hon Linus Okorie, for instituting a formal petition against Senator David Umahi and his collaborators, demanding the new Acting Inspector General of Police, lGP, Kayode Egbetokun, to swiftly arrest and prosecute the suspects within 48 hours, saying the step would serve as a deterrent to those who think they can perpetrate electoral frauds with impunity and go unpunished.

“We worry that such brazen acts of impunity, if left unchecked, could completely derail Nigeria’s fragile democracy, hence this important call and our position!” the group said.

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