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FG Suspends Chief Odimegwu for speaking out the truth over census figures

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Festus-Odimegwu-02The federal government yesterday issued a query to the chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Chief Festus Eze Odimegwu, asking him to explain the circumstances leading to his recent alleged inciting statements over 2006 census.

A source close to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) told LEADERSHIP yesterday that Odimegwu had been issued a query and given a specific period within which to respond to it.

He, however, could not tell the time limit for Odimegwu to respond but could be a prelude to his suspension.

 

Odimegwu recently made certain statements in some newspapers (LEADERSHIP not included) where he was quoted to have said that population forgery was done in every state, every locality and every regionbecause politicians want to manipulate it so that they can use it during the electioneering season.

He had said: “There was no census. The governor of Niger State wrote that they were waiting for enumerators, they didn’t come. That is why we have so many cases in the tribunal.”

He was also quoted to have said that during a review of the 2006 census in Minna, Niger State, he heard from an official named Inuwa Mohammed how monetary inducement was used to influence the process.

According to Odimegwu, “Mohammed stood up and told the whole commissioners, all the former directors and new directors that were there for the meeting, how they shared £3million and N90 million in a hotel room the money meant for the hiring and training of enumerators for the census.There was no census.”

He was alleged to have also mentioned that the then governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, disputed the figures for the state, saying that Tinubuconducted his own census in Lagos and got 17.2 million people instead of NPC chairmanSamailaMakama’s 9 million.

LEADERSHIP also recalled that about 22 NPC Commissioners recently sounded a stern warning to Odimegwu over what they described as his unhealthy and image-denting comments which are capable of causing a crisis and forcing the agency to derail from delivering on its mandate.

The warning was sequel to sponsored allegations of fraud, corruption and marginalization Odimegwulevelled against his predecessor, Chief SamailaMakama, and some serving directors in some national dailies.

While expressing shock at the allegations byOdimegwu, they wondered why he had, amongotherthings, chosen to ignore due process, defend the commission’s 2013 budget proposal and condemn censuses conducted in the past.

The commissioners, who dissociated themselves from what they described as rascality at the expense of governance and service delivery issues crying for attention, accused the Odimegwu administration of disregarding the Act which established the commission, the Public Service Rules (PSR) and the Financial Regulations (FR).

They also expressed fear that if the NPC boss was not called to order by the appropriate authorities, the proposed 2016 census might suffer a major setback as his unfavourable policies were already putting the commission at loggerheads with some of its development partners.

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