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| Comrade John Odey, former Auditor General Cross River State |
CALABAR– Mr John Odey, former Cross River State Auditor General is under severe fire with calls for his investigation for financial infractions committed while in office.
Odey stirred the hornet net when he made spurious allegations against three top public servants: Uko Inaku suspended Chairman Civil Service Commission, Ogbang Akwaji, former Head of Service and Sir Joseph Adie, former Accountant General of the State by accusing them of corruption and incompetence.
Odey made the claims when he appeared on the programme, “public view” on Hit FM in Calabar.
Following, those allegations, Odey’s tenure as Auditor General came under scrutiny and he was discovered to have committed serious infractions by manipulating the system to line his pocket
He was the Special Adviser Payroll to Governor Ayade and at the same time Auditor General the positions he used to be the one generating the names on payroll without reference to the nominal roll in Head of Service office which ought not to have been.
He ensured his wife and many nominees were employed and payrolled without the knowledge of Head of Service
He handed over a controversial payroll to Governor Bassey Otu.
However, reacting to Odey’s allegations against them, Akwaji, Adie and Uko revealed that Odey was ratther the one who caused serious financial infractions by usurping functions of the Head of Service, Accountant General and added to his as Special Adviser, Payroll and Auditor General. Positions, he used to be the one generating names on payroll, the one to screen the names and the one paying.
They said he used that as an avenue to illegally insert names into the states payroll and was paying himself a jumbo salary 0of over a million naira monthly making him the highest paid civil servant in the state.
According to the suspended Chairman Civil Service Commission, Inaku, “The five thousand persons employed which Odey made reference to was approved by His Excellency the former Governor Sen. Ben Ayade, however Odey wife and other of his nominees were employed and he payrolled her and all his nominees which bloated the state”s monthly wage bill whereas others employed in that same batch are yet to be payrolled till today”. Inaku revealed
He said Odey’s grudge against him is that he refused his attempt to manipulate his age to serve till 2028 after he had served the mandatory thirty five years.
Inaku revealed that “By Civil Service rules an official is due for retirement after thirty five years in service or if he attains sixty years in age. Odey attempted to falsify his age to allow him to serve till 2028 after 35 years when I turned that down, he became offended”
He said most of the fake names on payroll are injected by Odey which is the reason he made himself the generator of the payroll names, the screening officer and the paying officer which he leverages on to bloat the state wage bill to line his pocket
“Odey”s wife is on the payroll and he illegally injects thousands of names into the payroll. He claims he recovered eight billon naira for the state government and collected twenty percent from that money which is 1.2 billion. With all those illegal monies he was making from the state, he built the biggest personal house in Calabar with a lift and a helipad”. Inaku revealed.
Speaking in the same vein, Akwaji said Odey took over the duties of Head of Service by generating the names for payment and also that of the Accountant General by being the one paying those on the payroll.
“Comrade Odey was the Senior Special Adviser on payroll and made himself the paying officer and at same time, was Chairman Internal Revenue Service and the Auditor General. He made himself the highest paid civil servant with a salary of over a million naira. When we complained about the compromised in the internal control mechanism of the state by John odey holding the position of SSA payroll, state auditor general and chairman IRS all at the same time and the fiduciary implication, the governor (Ayade) appointed Chief Henry Onwe as Senior Special Adviser on Payroll but Odey did not allow him to function till the Ayade tenure ended because he was illegally adding names to the payroll. Chief Onwe is here in Calabar you can confirm from him”
He said Odey handed over the controversial payroll to Governor Bassey Otu with the intention of perpetrating the same infractions to his advantage so when he was asked to retire, he became offended and the outcome is his rush to the media to spew allegations against them.
“Out of the twenty thousand persons he put on payroll, only fifteen thousand have showed up for verification in the ongoing staff audit in the state. That clearly reveals the level of manipulation Odey was orchestrating while in office”.
The three top former officials called for the investigation of the former Auditor Genera by the governor of the state to unravel to his absurd deeds While in office.
Members of the public who called in to air their views on demanded the re-instatement of the suspended Chairman of Civil Service Commission and the arrest and interrogation of Odey for the sordid he caused while in office.