Controversy over ‘missing accountant, $4.6m’ in Bayelsa

Opinions are divided in Bayelsa State over alleged disappearance of Richard Etonye, the Government House accountant and cousin of state governor, Seriake Dickson.

Etonye, who is alleged to have absconded with a sum of $4.6m, is yet to be seen, days after the news broke.

The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, yesterday, urged the ‎Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to wade into the matter.

The party was reacting to a statement by the state government, accusing it of being behind invasion of the accountant’s house, and spreading of rumours.

“Since the APC won the presidential election, its leaders in the state have been manipulating federal security agencies, to harass, intimidate and invade the homes of innocent citizens and non APC members, to settle political scores,” reads a statement by the chief press secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson.

The APC, in a statement by its publicity secretary, Fortune Panebi, however, berated the governor for keeping silent over the matter, describing the gesture as admission that something was actually wrong.

The statement reads in part: “The story about the allegedly stolen cash of $4.6m is shocking. This development assaults the ‎collective psyche of the people of Bayelsa State, especially at a time Governor Dickson has decided to impoverish workers by deliberately suffocating them through non-payment of their rightful wages.

“We had watched in total disbelief that such an act could be brazenly perpetrated by the governor. We had asked where and how possible it was for him to keep such a huge cash in dollars. But Governor Dickson’s response to the breaking news about the stolen sum on Friday clearly betrayed him.”