Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
With the corruption index in Nigeria on the high, it is no news on how prominent Governors, Senators, and public servants have over the years made Dubai a destination of choice for investment in real estate at the expense of taxpayers.
One of such, which may have gone unnoticed for years, is the hoarded assets of Mr. Ifeatu Chinedu Onejeme, the Commissioner for Finance in Anambra State, as the state adjudged to be blessed with intellectuals, may have also been gifted with few bad eggs who at any slightest opportunity will waste no time in dipping their hands into the state coffers just to enrich their pockets.
An investigation by this online news medium reveals that following Governor Obiano’s reshuffling of his cabinet in 2016, Mr. Ifeatu Chinedu Onejeme was handed a prestigious position in the state with a money bag as he became its Commissioner for Finance, Industry, Innovations & Development Financial Institutions.
However, notorious for always been absent from work despite the importance of his ministry, which is involved in the day to day affairs of Anambra State, including the processing of the payment of contractors and consultants from all other ministries and agencies, our findings reveal that Mr. Ifeatu Onejeme acquired a flat in Al Barsha South Fourth, an area in the heart of Dubai known for its splendid collection of residential apartments, villas, and townhouses, with prices for each apartment ranging from 70 million Naira to about 128 Million Naira.
A perusal through the documents attached to the property showed that the asset may have been acquired soon after Mr. Ifeatu became the commissioner for finance in Anambra state, as the International passport registered with the property and bearing the number A02482**0 was issued on 9/17/2014 with an expiry date of 9/16/2019.
Further Investigations revealed that the lazy commissioner, as he is popularly called on the streets of Anambra, also acquired another property, this time using his wife, Mrs. Chizoba Christiana Onejeme as a proxy. Documents attached to the property as seen by SecretReporters included Mrs. Onejeme’s date of birth as contained in her International passport with Number A04812**0 issued on 6/6/2013 and expiry date of 6/5/2018.
The view in many quarters in Anambra state is for the state governor and the relevant anti-corruption agencies to immediately investigate the unchecked activities of Mr. Onejeme and hold him accountable if guilty of any offense.
This man left UBA as Executive Director. Are we saying that the two properties mentioned are too expensive for a bank ED to own?? Must every individual who venture into politics after a successful stint in the private sector be painted with corruption??
I also believe with due respect that one of the canons of investigative journalism is the use of FOI to investigate if there is any missing funds in the ministry of finance under Onejeme’s watch rather than this conjectural speculation.