A group, the Coalition of South-East Youth leaders (COSEYL), has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ignore an appeal made by a former treasurer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Smart Iheoma, urging it to investigate an alleged corruption case against a former governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Ahamefula Orji, and Senator representing Abia Central and his son, Mr. Chinedum Orji, who is currently the speaker of the state House of Assembly.
In a statement made available to journalists in Owerri, the President General of the coalition, Goodluck Ibem, argued that Senator Orji, while in office as a governor, managed the state’s resources prudently, a fact he said was attested to by all and sundry, including reputable international organisations that bestowed on him myriads of awards as a great manager of team resources.
Ibem added that his son, Chinedum, was not a government agent, an appointee or a contractor, hence he had no hand whatsoever in government when his father held sway as governor of Abia State.
He argued that if there was any place the anti-graft agency (EFCC) should beam its searchlight, it should be in APGA where according to him Smart Iheoma was the custodian of the party’s purse.
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Continuing Ibem accused Iheoma of working with Chief Alex Oti to destabilise APGA recalling that he instituted a suit against Mr. Chinedum Orji, but which was struck out on June 1, 2020 by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
He insisted that Iheoma lacked any constitutional, moral or legal right to speak for APGA, a party that did all it could for him and Oti with a governorship ticket in 2019 respectively.
“It is not only government money that is accounted for, in any public and exalted office, political parties included, where resources are generated, those saddled with the responsibility of managing resources of such organisations and who held position of trust by so doing are duty-bound to account for any dime and farthing – to the very last – collected and spent.
“Smart Iheoma must account for funds generated from party expression of interest and nomination forms sold to aspirants and donations made by party members and patrons including, as is often the case, all the largesse given to the party out of loyalty,” he concluded.
