There is serious crisis in some of the Ministries, Parastatal and Government Agencies in Imo State following the alleged mismanagement of funds meant for the up keep of Government Establishments.
Our roving reporter was told that the Permanent Secretaries, Head of Parastatals and Agencies are alleged to be into sharp practices.
For instance, the source said the impress money released by the State Governor to the Ministries are said to be shared between the Perm Secs of some Ministries and their Commissioners. The Governor of Imo State , Senator Hope Uzodinma, it was understood releases N500,000 as impress money to each of the Ministries monthly for their up keep but surprisingly the money is not properly utilized.
Greedy Commissioners as we gathered are fond of converting the impress money to their own personal use and allow the office work to suffer. it was alleged that sometimes they share the money with Perm Secs and some of the directors who are loyal to them.
A visit to some of the Ministries at the State Secretariat complex located along Owerri Portharcourt road recently showed that office work have been paralyzed as a result of lack of funding in some Ministries.
Money to buy fuel is not provided and as a result of this official documents are typed outside the Ministries.
It was also discovered that the office equipments are not maintained and good number of staff do not have tables and chairs because there is no money to buy furniture.
Trumpeta further gathered that most Commissioners and Perm Secs do not come to work every day especially when the impress money is collected.
Workers who spoke to us at various Ministries want the governor to constitute a Probe Panel on this matter in order to discover the total amount of the impress money embezzled by the Perm Secs and Commissioners. Only few Perm Secs and commissioners come to work on daily bases, it was learnt.
Report also has it that 60 percent of the Perm Secs and Commissioners have extended their weekend up to Tuesday. It was alleged that they do not come to work on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Concerned Imolites are now calling on Governor Uzodinma and the new Head of Service to redeploy the Permanent Secretaries.
“Those Commissioners that are not doing well should be dropped, aggrieved workers said.
It would be recalled that Governor Uzodinma during the swearing in of the new Head of Service Engr Bar Raymond Ucheoma on Friday at Imo Government House stated that things are going to change adding that the era of workers receiving money without discharging their duties effectively has gone.
The new Head of Service hinted that he will not give room for lazy attitude, truancy and mismanagement of funds.
Information getting to our news desk revealed that the Governor is set to reshuffle his cabinet. The Permanent Secretaries are also going to be reshuffled as we were told by a reliable sources.
