July 19, (THEWILL) – The factional Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Dr Aloysius Nweke Ogah, has expressed the hope that his group will eventually get justice in the lingering impasse in Ebonyi CAN over allegations of financial impropriety against the embattled Chairman, Rev. Dr Scamb Nwokolo.
Ogah, who disclosed this in an interview in Abakaliki, said following reports from the government house Chaplaincy, Chairman of CAN Southeast and the latest from the Chief of Staff, that he expects to get justice from Governor Francis Nwifuru.
It would be recalled that Pastor Dr Aloysius Nweke Ogah and his faction had accused the Rev. Scamb Nwokolo of lack of accountability, especially as it concerns the disbursement of one hundred million(N100.000.000) Christmas largesse, one hundred bags of 50kg of rice and Sienna donated to the body.
“I am the authentic Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ebonyi State chapter. I am satisfied with the steps so far taken by the government to address this matter. First of all, when the government learnt of it, the case was directed to the government house Chaplaincy, that is, Rev. Fr Jude Agama, who intervened in the case, interacted with my team and also interacted with Rev. Dr Nwokolo’s team and then wrote their report.
“After that, the Governor wanted another perspective of the case and referred it to Southeast CAN headed by Rev. Fr Dr Abraham Nwali. They called us the two sides separately, however, and after interacting with us, they also wrote their report. That is the second report.
“Then after that, the Governor referred the case also to the SSG, who did not have time to look into the case. When the Governor saw that she could not handle it, she referred the case to the Chief of Staff, who finally interacted with us on the 11th of this month. That was last week. The two groups came together and had interaction with the Chief of Staff. That is so far what the government has done.
“As it stands now, we are waiting for the final decisions of His Excellency, the Governor based on whatever report Professor Echiegu will give along with that of Southeast CAN, along with that of government house Chaplaincy; we are expecting the Governor’s final decision to come any moment from now. So, we are fully satisfied with the steps that the government has taken to resolve this impasse.
“We are hopeful that the Governor will deliver justice on this matter. We know him, he is not a fraudulent person. I have worked with him when he was a speaker and I know him intimately and I know he will deliver the right judgement as far as this issue of accountability is concerned. Moreover, he is the one that gave the money and he is the one to give the final judgement on it. Both the rice and the money came from him and also the sienna came from the former governor, Senator David Umahi, but all of them came from CAN.
“We are dissatisfied with the issue of corruption, embezzlement and fraud in the church of God, especially as it concerns the CAN Ebonyi State chapter. We have taken on this matter and insisted that the former CAN Chairman because I am the authentic real Chairman, Rev. Dr Nwokolo should render account of his stewardship as far as money was concerned.
“His Excellency, the Governor in pursuit of government policies Peoples Chatter of Needs doled out a large sum of one hundred million to the CAN as a body for the ministers to use for their Christmas, this money was dodged by the former CAN Chairman, Rev Dr Nwokolo. Again one thousand bags of rice worth seventy thousand per bag, that is, seventy million naira in all was also given and this was not distributed.
“The former CAN Chairman kept it for himself. We are also asking him to give an account of this rice. And also gave an account of one Sienna car that was not his due which he collected. The Sienna car is worth fifteen million. In all, we are asking him to render an account of one hundred and eighty-five million naira. Up till now, it has not been done”, he said.
Sunday Ogbu is a professional journalist with eight - twelve years experience that had worked with various print and online media. Sunday specializes in news reporting with the aim of educating his readers on current social, political and economic occurences within his area of coverage. Sunday is a strong force to work with in the media industry and uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Sunday is inspired daily by his wife and their four children. In his free time, Sunday likes sight-seeing, reading and discussing issues of societal interest.
