March 20, (THEWILL)- Parents of the Federal Science Technical College (FSTC), Amuzu, in Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, have raised alarm over financial impropriety perpetrated by the Executive members of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA).
This was disclosed during a press briefing in Abakaliki, during which they accused the PTA Chairman, Monday Eze, the Financial Secretary, Mrs Nwali Nkechi and the PRO, Mr Ogbonnaya James, of recklessly squandering over fifteen million naira (N15,000,000,00), belonging to the PTA.
Addressing the press on behalf of the Concerned Parents, Mr Okoro Chukwu Olughu, Treasurer, FSTC, Amuzu, PTA, said they considered it reasonable to brief the press so that ignorant parents and other PTA members will feel the pains Mr Monday Eze-led PTA is inflicting on the commonwealth of the PTA and how the School Principal is folding his hands and watching silently.
He said, “We, on behalf of ourselves, all FSTC PTA members and concerned parents, wish to use this medium to bring to the knowledge of the public the flagrant mismanagement of the PTA funds by the PTA Chairman, Mr Eze Monday.
“Within his first six (6) months in office, he has lavishly squandered over N15m Fifteen Million Naira, in his wanton recklessness without any substantial physical structure to show for it.
“This document is intended to fully expose the details of all his financial/non-financial impropriety and his untamed unethical administrative style. We want to let Ebonyians, Nigerians and the whole World know that Mr Monday Eze, came to plunder the meagre resources of FSTC Amuzu, empty the PTA account and enrich himself and his family.
“It is important to mention, at this juncture, the key players whose supportive roles enabled the chairman to go this far. They are The Financial Secretary, Mrs Nwali Nkechi, who firmly joined forces with the Chairman to sign withdrawals with reckless abandon, in keeping with her vow and determination to empty the PTA treasury as revenge for the Principal’s refusal to give admission to her child who could not meet entrance requirements.
“The PRO, Mr Ogbonnaya James, was always ready to execute the Chairman’s orders without minding whether or not they were repugnant to equity and natural justice. He has always volunteered his account for some of those dubious transactions and he knows exactly the financial rewards he gets. He has blown away over N15 million since he assumed office, on 24/06/2023.
“The Concerned Parents took time to expose the excesses of the PTA Chairman to include but not limited to the following.
“Mr Monday Eze insists that every financial transaction and withdrawal from the PTA account must be routed through his account. Parents never knew this until the Treasurer, Mr Okoro Olughu, had a fallout with him while insisting that due process must be followed.
“He goes all out, alone to negotiate and contract a supplier, a labourer or a service provider, only to come back and feed Exco with the final costs he agreed with the contractors and the payment must always pass through his bank account to the final beneficiary.
“Mr Monday Eze flouts the laid down procedures of the Procurement Act and does not care about the provisions of the Financial Regulations. And he operates as if none of those regulatory instruments does exist. Even the PTA Financial Secretary, Mrs Nwali Nkechi, who was a former LGA Vice Chairman, is supposed to guide him right.
“He directed his Exco to always collect empty receipts from clients which they could always fill out later after making transactions. He dabbles into any project without analysing the costs and benefits. He is motivated by the financial benefits he has padded into the contract or supply and does not care whether it is prudent to embark on such projects.
“He seems not to be aware of any PTA operational guidelines or he deliberately does not want to follow it. This finds expression in the way he floated a compulsory development levy of N30,000 Thirty Thousand Naira only, for every new student and forced it down the throats of the parents last year.
“This presumptuous wickedness generated a lot of reactions because it happened exactly at the same time he was releasing several media publications condemning the sudden increases in school fees and asking the Federal Government to reconsider her position in that regard.
“In a bid to cover up all of these and many more, he excommunicated the PTA Treasurer and removed him from both the Exco platform and the general parent WhatsApp platforms. And when he saw that this pleased his political allies and some uninformed parents, he was in the business of removing legitimate parents from the platforms. He has removed about six (6) other parents, whom he felt their comments in the WhatsApp group threatened his ego and cynical subterfuge to defraud the innocent parents.
“While we await the response of the Federal Ministry of Education in a letter which requested the urgent intervention of the Honourable Minister and the Director of Senior Secondary Education, dated 18th January 2024, we considered it reasonable to make this press release so that our ignorant parents and other PTA members will feel the pains Mr Monday Eze is inflicting on the commonwealth of the PTA and how the School Principal is folding his hands and watching silently.
“Monday Eze operates the PTA like a Sole Proprietor and never allows any transparency or follows due processes in pressing home his demands as required from a public office holder.
“The Chairman has taken further steps, in his desperate attempt to cover his glaring sins and iniquities, to connive with the PTA accounting officers from a certain bank and they have disabled the Treasurer’s alert system such that since 31/01/2024 till date, he has not been getting alert for all the withdrawals and other transactions going on in the PTA account.
“This is a high-profile fraud and a ploy for him to have unfettered access to the parents’ funds so as to misuse it as much as he pleases. Let the people in this land and the general public hear us out.
“Finally, we are calling on the generality of our parents, the school Management and all other stakeholders to rise up and investigate all the issues raised here with regards to the PTA Chairman’s decisive onslaughts, impropriety and invasion of the PTA fund. We are always available to make clarifications where necessary.
“Again, we sincerely request all parents, who have been misinformed or completely ignorant of these issues, to quickly join forces with other stakeholders to make a swift effort to restore orderliness and probity in the operations of the PTA Exco, for the welfare of both our children and their teachers. Kindly review the attached documents.”
When contacted on the phone for his reaction, the PTA Chairman, Monday Eze, after he was called severally, said he was in transit and could not react to the allegations.
However, Mrs Nwali Nkechi and James Ogbonnaya, the PTA Financial Secretary and PRO respectively, denied the allegations.
About the Author
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.
