Community threatens to banish officials for fraud allegation

By Bassey Anthony, Uyo

 

Ikot Inyang Community in Etinan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has threatened to banish the President of its development association, Mr. Enefiok Umoh, and Secretary, Uduak Edet Umoh, over alleged fraud.

The community accused the two officials of embezzling over N54million, being money meant for the construction of a water project in the community.

The said fund for the water project was said to have been released to the community’s development association by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2013.

However, the community alleged that the president of the association and his secretary took the money while denying other executive members knowledge of the release of the funds.

Since then, the issue has generated crisis in the community, leading to the malicious media attacks on the village head, Chief Emem Akpan.

The president and secretary of the development association, Messrs Enefiok Umoh and Uduak Udo, were accused of orchestrating the media attack on the village head.

The community, which rose from a stakeholders meeting at the palace of the village head, attended by his deputy, village executive council, family heads, youth and women leaders, expressed shock that the project on ground was nowhere near the amount given to them.

A communiqué issued after the meeting by the stakeholders partly stated: ‘‘Apart from Enefiok Benjamin Umoh and his Secretary, Uduak Edet Udoh, members of his executives were surprised that the amount of N53, 747, 185.80K was released by NDDC for the water project in 2013.”

But the police, after investigation, realised that the petition by Umoh was spurious and trying to cause a distraction in the community.

The people, however, warned Umoh and Udo to desist from their “wickedness” as they would not hesitate to banish them from the community if they continued to bring confusion to the area.

‘‘On Monday, September 30, 2019, the said Enefiok Benjamin Umoh petitioned the Nigeria Police that Eteidung vandalised the water project, as the police invited Eteidung to appear at their station on October 2, 2019.

‘‘At the police station, Eteidung told the police that in 2016 one Idorenyin Umoh, who was a teacher at the primary school in the village, called and pointed out to him that people had vandalised more than half of the solar panels and that the Eteidung should cause the remaining panels to be removed for safe keeping before everything was carted away.

‘‘In 2017, Eteidung convoked executive meeting on how to salvage the water crisis situation in the community. It was at the council meeting that it was agreed that a solution be provided for the community to restore the water. From the proceeds of the sales of the remaining panels, a generator, submersible pump, linkages to PHCN and change-over etc were bought and since then, water was restored in the community.’