Extortion, Embezzlement Uncovered, As Akwa Ibom Health Commissioner Halts Report

January 15, 2021 Emmanuel Ntekim Africa, Nigeria 0

The purported extortion and the embezzlement of funds by the principal of the School of Health Technology, Etinan, Akwa Ibom State and how the Commissioner of Health, Prof. Augustine Umoh has halted the report of the investigative panel in support of the school principal, Mr. David Umoh has been uncovered. 

One of the senior staff and students of the institute told this reporter that Mr. David Umoh has turned the school of health technology into a ‘milking cow’ through double and unnecessary levies against the approved fees for the students of the school and that the Principal has always performed the functions of the Registrar, Provost and Bursar.

9news learned that several petitions against the above act of the Principal were written to the Health Commissioner whose ministry supervised the activities of the school only to be ignored by the commissioner. 

But due to pressure, the commissioner succumbs to the petitions by setting up a panel of inquiry headed by Dr. Peter Inyang as chairman, to investigate the alleged irregularities, and the panel recommended the suspension of some principal officers of the institution to pave way for proper investigation into the conduct of the Mr. David Udoh and others on the 12th October 2020 to ascertained the proper procedure of balance and fair investigation but was rejected by the Health Commissioner. 

The information received from a close source to the Commissioner and the Principal of the School of Health Technology, Etinan, says Mr. Udoh has graciously boasted that as far as the commissioner was concern, who is also native of his community, he can never be nail by anybody neither group of persons nor the Ministry of Health, Akwa Ibom State.

The close source confirmed to 9news that the Investigative Panel has uncovered financial irregularities and that the principal tendered false records and documents on the approval and disbursement of funds against the student’s electoral committee, in addition to the abnormality in the withdrawal of the school funds from the schools’ account.

And that during the investigative, the Panel verified the information given by the principal of the school through phone calls in the presence of principal and staff under investigation and that the principal gave the sum of three hundred thousand (N 300,000.00) to the school community to raise a letter of support urging the Health commissioner to influence and retain him in office as principal.

Along with the principal officers who appeared before the investigative panel, was four students and staff from different departments of the school.

Again, in an open letter to the state governor made available to 9news, the writer has alleged that Mr. Udoh mandated all students of the school to pay two thousand five hundred naira (N2,500) each for buying of cement, compulsory payment of a total sum of one hundred and fifteen thousand naira (N115,000.00) excluding uniform, indexing and other departmental levies for new students as against the approved fees for the school as was published by the Ministry of Health as attached herein, and that the extortion and the embezzlement of the school funds “plus other illegal levies, is a two-story building located opposite the first gate of Ibom Specialist Hospital, Uyo whose construction was intensified during the lockdown period which is now painted awaiting leasing the picture attached herein”. 

The open letter expresses certainty inline with information from a close staff to the Principal of the school, Mr. David Udoh “is diabolic”. That after his interrogation with the members of the investigative panel, “he was seen in the school compound by students at about 5:51 am six weeks ago, going round the school doing some incantations with the school sand”. And that the school Principal Mr. Udoh, has vowed to deal with those staff and students who testify at the panel of inquiry against him.

While visiting the school, the 9news reporter interacted with the secretary of one of the host community, Ikot Ebiyak, Chief Benjamin Mfon Udoeka, who said the principal of the school had informed the village council that all fees or levies charged in the school, were approved by the Ministry of Health to run the schools activities since the state government has not provided the school with subvention for the daily running of the school affairs.

Chief Udoeka told the 9news reporter of the visit of Policy Alert, an NGO that came to the community on fact findings. But it was not ascertained by the village secretary if Mr. Udoh has lobbed the village council with any fund to support him. 

However, the open letter to the state governor reads that “Mr. David Udoh has paid one hundred thousand naira (N100,000) each to the three village heads, secretary and youth leaders of the host community, to support and stand by him during and after his trial”. It has also been ascertained that Mr. David Udoh has gone far of doing anything to save his job and the embarrassment he brought upon the school and the Ministry of Health.

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