From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Governor Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday in Makurdi handed over a seized truck of palliatives to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) with a charge to conduct a thorough investigation over suspicions of diversion.
Recall that a few days ago, the Governor through his Chief Press Secretary Tersoo Kula had told the media that a truck conveying assorted relief materials meant for IDPs in Kwande/Ushongo federal constituency was caught offloading palliatives at a private residence around Kilometre 2 in Makurdi.
According to him, checks later showed that the palliatives, which were loaded from a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warehouse in Jos, had found their way to a private residence under the directives of Hon. Terseer Ugbor, the representative of the Kwande/Ushongo federal constituency.
Governor Alia, who admitted that he was the one who ordered the truck to be impounded at Government House, said he wanted to know why goods released from NEMA for distribution to IDPs in Kwande and Ushongo were being offloaded at a private residence in Makurdi.
He stated that preliminary investigations revealed that the goods were coming from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and were meant to be sponsored by the state government and lifted by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
The Governor, who spoke to NEMA headquarters upon his return from the UK, where he attended Mutual Union of Tiv in UK, expressed displeasure over the discoveries of some hidden facts regarding the matter.
In a letter from NEMA headquarters addressed to the representative of the Kwande/Ushongo constituency, Terseer Ugbor, who actually lobbied for the materials, the agency specified that the state government should pay for the expenses of lifting the materials in Jos, and that the materials should be taken to the state by NEMA and handed over to SEMA.
