21st December, 2010
The Keke Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (KORAN), has absolved itself from the alleged illegal conversion of N417 million belonging to NAPEP.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, the chairman of the association’s caretaker committee, Chief Eze Nwachukwu, said that it was erroneously reported that the money was clandenstinely appropriated by KORAN, stressing that it was a fallacy.
He alleged that it was a phoney company owned by the expelled former president of the association in connivance with top officials of NAPEP that was used to perpetrate the said fraud and not the association as widely rumoured.
“It is very unfortunate that a programme designed to alleviate poverty is mirred in corruption. To save NAPEP, KORAN requests that the Senate President David Mark approves the immediate release of the Senate Committee report on investigation into the matter.
“We also urge President Gooluck Jonathan to set up a high powered judicial panel of inquiry to investigate NAPEP, but this can only be done by suspending the national coordinator of the agency, Dr. Magnus Kpakol, so as to give the panel unfettered access to vital documents in NAPEP,†Nwachukwu stated.
Reaffirming that Otunba Dotun Adegbola remained the chairman, Board of Trustees of KORAN till date, Nwachukwu revealed that the former president, Alhaji Bashiru Akinola and the former treasurer, Mrs. Esther Ogunbanjo were suspended due to alleged gross misconduct, conspiracy and embezzlement of the association’s fund, leading to eventual expulsion of the former president.
Presenting a copy of an allegedly forged certificate of incorporation, the KORAN chairman also alleged that the former president fraudulently conspired with some officials of Corporate Affairs Commission to remove the original names of members of the association’s board of trustees.
Nwachukwu called the attention of newmen to an advertisement in one of the national newspapers on 10 June, 2010, placed on behalf of KORAN, disclaiming Alhaji Bashiru Akinola, Mrs. Esther Ogunbanjo and Alhaji Bolaji Suleiman.
While denying any faction or leadership crisis in KORAN, he called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti graft agencies to hasten their investigation on the N417 million NAPEP scam.
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