Controversy has contin­ued to trail the activities of the former Project General Manager of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Engr. Joseph Almajiri, who retired from the agency five months ago.

He is being accused of cor­ruption, maladministration and violation of work ethics, which he allegedly perpetuated with the connivance of an aide of the immediate-past Vice President of Nigeria.

The embattled former compa­ny’s General Manager and Proj­ect Coordinator was squaring up with his accusers who he had described as faceless individuals whose stock in trade was to cook up false narratives to dent his reputation.

Sources told Sunday Inde­pendent that Almajiri allegedly collected funds for unattended training programs, and that the African Development Bank (AFDB) allegedly wrote to the TCN requesting a refund of the monies it provided.

Sources also alleged that there were funds appropriated for the development and upgrades of the electricity distribution network system but were not used appropriately by him.

Sources also alleged that Ciroma denied Transrail Lighting Limited, an Indian firm, execu­tion of Lines Lot 1—NTEP-TL1— Construction of Mando—Rimin Zakara 330kV Double Circuit QUAD Conductor Transmission Line Project allegedly for selfish reasons.

They further alleged that Almajiri was scheming vigorously to be made the next Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, but that he was being challenged on account of his support for a rival party in Kaduna South in the February 2023 presidential elections.

They also alleged that Almajirii and his family had dual citizenship.

But, Engineer Almajiri, in a chat with Sunday Independent, said the allegations against him were false, misguided and de­signed to soil his reputation.

He claimed he did not possess dual citizenship and certainly not scheming for the position of Managing Director of TCN for he was not desperate.

He claimed he did not hobnob with politicians too, as alleged.

He said he had a brilliant ca­reer in the Transmission Compa­ny of Nigeria, where he worked and earned accolades before he retired this year.

The faceless Individuals spreading fake news, he said, were oblivious of the reputation he built in service which they could crosscheck in TCN.

He also said he had never inflated figures, let alone cor­nered funds for unattended for­eign training as claimed by the source.

According to him, as the for­mer Project General Manager of Transmission Company of Nigeria, he did not circumvent the rules governing the workings of his specialised area.

He added: “As a Project Gen­eral Manager, I knew the impor­tance of my area to the growth of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, and the country’s power sector.

“Armed with this fact, I car­ried out my duty diligently and developed a robust team work to achieve optimal objectives of TCN’s project management.

“Most of the quality jobs my team delivered then remains a reference point in the history of the TCN and a veritable tool to enhance the power network in Nigeria.

“The robust training my project team was exposed to, strengthened them and con­tributed immeasurably to boost TCN’s manpower development and skill building.

“Those spreading the wild al­legations about my involvement in diversion of fund and milking the agency are after subterra­nean interest having lost steam to view my noble contributions to TCN and how the agency has fared since I left its employ.” (Sunday Independent)