The Ward Disciplinary Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State has suspended the Welfare Secretary of the party, Benjamin Omakolo. The suspension is based on allegations of misappropriation of funds, gross insubordination, and consistent non-payment of party dues.
The 5-man committee, led by Ameh Samuel, disclosed that Omakolo’s suspension was deemed necessary after he failed to honor a series of invitations extended to him. The committee cited instances of official invitations sent to Omakolo, who did not attend the investigation physical meeting and did not communicate the reasons for his absence.
The committee’s investigation also revealed discrepancies in the disbursement of demobilization funds, with some local government secretaries reporting that they did not receive the funds. The State Chairman of APC in Benue confirmed that he was not briefed by Omakolo before the funds were disbursed.
As a result, the committee recommended Omakolo’s suspension on grounds of misappropriation of public funds, gross insubordination for not briefing the State Chairman on the purpose and intent of the funds before disbursing them, and consistent failure and non-payment of party dues, DAILY POST reports.
According to the committee: “We officially invited Hon. Benjamin Omakolo in person and also accompanied it with a written invitation to attend the investigation physical meeting, as evident in the attached document.
“Unfortunately, Hon. Benjamin Omakolo never honoured the invitation and never communicated his reasons for not attending the meeting to date.
“We reached out to 21 out of 23 APC LG Secretaries to find out if they have received the demobilization funds. Only 12 said they received and the remaining said they were not given.
“Rather, in some local governments, the funds were given to ward chairmen and non-party executives.
“We called the State Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Benue State chapter if he was briefed by Hon. Omakolo before he disbursed the funds, he said, he was not briefed. He only heard of the disbursement through grapevine sources.
“In light of the above findings, we the committee recommend that the ward leadership of the party suspend Hon. Benjamin Omakolo on the following grounds:
“Misappropriation of Public Funds, for failing to disburse the funds as he was instructed.
“Gross Insubordination for not briefing the State Chairman on the purpose and intent of the funds before disbursing the same.
“Consistent failure and non-payment of party dues.
“We on this note appreciate the Igoro Ward Chairman and the ward leadership for the confidence reposed in us to carry out this critical assignment. We are still available to serve the party in whichever capacity the leadership deem fit in the nearest future.”
Recall that the Ehaje Ward I exco had suspended the state party chairman but the national working committee had since reversed the suspension.
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