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CBN MSME fund: heads to roll in Kogi commerce ministry over fraud

By John Akubo, Lokoja
20 March 2016   |   2:39 am
Heads may soon roll in the Kogi State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, following the discovery of a multi-billion Naira fraud by the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, during an unscheduled visit to some ministries in the state.
Yahaya Bello

Yahaya Bello

Heads may soon roll in the Kogi State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, following the discovery of a multi-billion Naira fraud by the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, during an unscheduled visit to some ministries in the state.

Sources close to the governor’s entourage said the sleaze was in connection with the Kogi State/Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) fund, which was allegedly diverted by top directors in the Ministry.

The discovery may have emanated from the ongoing staff verification exercise intended to plug leakages in the civil service.
On discovering the sleight of hand, Bello immediately directed the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry to turn in a comprehensive report on the fund.

He also asked the ministry to collaborate with the Office of the Accountant General of the state for thorough investigation.
Promising to get to the root of the fraud, he assured that he was ready to prosecute anyone found wanting in the MSME scandal.He equally reiterated the determination of his administration to root out corruption from the civil service.

saying he will not spare anyone who has constituted themselves as drainpipes of the public till.

It was gathered that palpable tension has enveloped the civil service even as the Head of Service in the State, Mr. Moses Atakpa had been sent on a 30-day compulsory leave.

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