Ebonyi governor suspends adviser for revenue fraud

 

The Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, on Thursday suspended his Special Adviser on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Jeremiah Oketa, indefinitely

Announcing the suspension at a press briefing, the state commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Emmanuel Onwe, said Mr. Oketa had already been stopped from collecting IGR for the state.

Although the details of why Mr. Oketa was suspended was not disclosed by the government, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that he was suspended for creating a separate bank account for payment of IGR without the consent of the state government.

Mr. Oketa was said to have connived with a company mandated to enumerate all the buildings in the state for tax payment and created separate bank account where the taxes would be paid without the knowledge of the government.

It was gathered that the state government had already created its own account for the purpose.
Angered by the development, the government wielded the big stick and suspended Mr. Oketa indefinitely.


PREMIUM TIMES