The Benue State House of Assembly has approved the suspension of the Auditor General for Local Government, Dr. Abraham Gberindyer, over his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of N4.6 billion in local government funds.
The suspension follows the arrest of Dr. Gberindyer and other senior officials of the Bureau for Local Government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the alleged diversion of funds meant for auditing local government officials, pensioners, and Primary Health Care facilities across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Reacting to the development, political commentator Asom D Jerry stated that those who first raised the alarm about the fraud were initially called names. He added that the truth about Governor Hyacinth Alia’s character is gradually being revealed, and that the people of Benue are no longer deceived by what he described as “so-called healing masses.”
The EFCC had earlier arrested three officials of the Bureau for Local Government, Ayu Terna (Permanent Secretary), Bishop Dzungwe (Director of Finance/Administration), and Dr. Abraham Gberindyer (Auditor), along with two consultants in connection with the N4.6 billion scam.
The case continues to generate strong reactions across Benue State as investigations by the anti-graft agency are ongoing.
This latest development adds to the growing list of high-profile corruption allegations rocking the local government sector in the state.
