Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, today paid an unscheduled visit to some ministries in the state, with cans of worms revealing multi-billion fraud in the State Ministry of Commerce and industry.
Sources privy to the visit told reporters that the sleaze was in connection with the Kogi State/CBN MSME which was allegedly diverted by some top Directors in the Ministry.
The highly astonished Gov. Bello immediately directed the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry to turn in a comprehensive report on the fund. He also asked the ministry to collaborate with the Office of the Accountant General of the state for thorough investigation.
Alhaji Yahaya Bello promised to get to the roots of the fraud, assuring that he was ready to prosecute anyone found wanting in the MSME-gate that has shaken the ministry to its foundations.
He reiterated the determination of his administration to root out corruption from the civil service, saying his administration will not spare anyone who has constituted himself or herself to a drain pipe in the state.
Sources told newsmen that palpable tension has enveloped the civil service even as the Head of Service in the State, Mr. Moses Atakpa has been sent on a 30-day compulsory leave.
A source who craved anonymity told newsmen in Lokoja that the revelations which may emanate from the ongoing staff verification exercise will shake the entire apparatchik of the civil service.
