A group of Idoma palace chiefs, the Aojoko K’Oturkpo (Special Advisers to the traditional ruler of Otukpo) have cautioned against what it called ‘sponsored attacks’ on the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TetFund) Sonny Echono.
They alleged that reports indicate that Echono is under probe by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) for awarding two contracts to the tune of 7.6 billion naira without the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) which is mandatory for contracts of such magnitudes.
Although TetFund in an official statement did not deny giving out the contracts but said that it had followed due process and did not flout any rules as alleged since they were ICT projects to be implemented under Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which did not require public bidding and was therefore within the purview of the agency to execute without FEC approval.
The Otukpo Palace chiefs in an address to the press over the weekend said that it was “disheartening and most worrisome that at a crucial time such as this, in the history of our dear nation, when the best of hands are needed to push Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, some very unpatriotic Nigerians are still cultivating ethnic sentiments for their selfish pursuits.”
In the statement signed by the 15 palace chiefs with Dave Ekwo as Chairman and Adeyi Odaudu, Secretary respectively, the chiefs who pointedly allege ethnic witch hunt against their kinsman said that the
TetFund executive secretary should not be “sacrificed on the alter of ethnic chauvinism”.
“There is no doubt that the attacks are deliberate and nepotic in nature… The ethnic agenda to replace Echono who has been tested and a known performer with an unknown Professor of South Western extraction on very malicious and unscrupolous allegations must never be allowed as it can only deepen ethnic distrust and fan the embers of disunity.”
The group called on President Bola Tinubu to disregard what they described as” ethnic based attempts to rubbish his Renewed Hope Agenda” which they claim TetFund under Echono epitomises.
