Ebonyi governor-elect poised to probe Gov. Elechi

The incoming Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government in Ebonyi state is set to probe the out-going administration of Governor Martin Elechi, contrary to public pronouncements by the Governor-elect, Dave Umahi, that he would not do so.
A source close to the Governor-elect told Global Patriot Newspapers from Abakiliki, the Ebonyi state capital, that the probe would be far-reaching and would involve a review of major contracts awarded by the Elechi administration as well as the management of the funds of the local government in the state over which the son of the governor has been quizzed by EFCC officials in the past.
Our source who craved anonymity said that though there is no love lost between the out-going governor and the governor-elect who was Chief Elechi’s deputy, the proposed probe would not be a witch hunt but an opportunity to know how the resources of the state have been expended.
“A probe is certain, it will be in the interest of the state,” the source said, pointing out that “the state has been run, literally, as a one-man affair or a family business.”
The source, a highly placed indigene of the state said that though the governor-elect has said publicly that he would not probe the Elechi government, pressures are being mounted on him to beam his search light on the activities of his predecessor once he takes over on May 29.
Reminded that the governor-elect was part of the out-going government as Deputy Governor, our source said “he was side lined and did not know what was happening in the government,” stressing that “the governor did not even support his governorship aspiration. Indeed, he worked against his election and even when Umahi emerged as winner of the poll, he still went about publicly denouncing the election as rigged.”
He said that the governor-elect understandably has been bitter, especially as Governor Elechi has continued to lay booby traps on the path of the incoming administration, even after elders and political leaders of the state have intervened and tried to broker peace between the two.
Some of the booby traps, the source said, are the rash of appointment that the outgoing governor has been making, including the appointment and swearing in of 16 permanent secretaries one week to his exit from office.
“The governor-elect sees those appointments as attempts by Governor Elechi to saturate the civil service with his loyalists who would help to cover his tracks and work to undermine the efforts of the incoming government,” the source said, noting that the governor elect has insisted that he would not honour the appointments while the state house of assembly has also moved against them.
The election of the governor-elect was backed by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and many other political leaders of the state who at some point attempted have Governor Elechi impeached.
What is not yet certain is to what use the governor-elect would put the report of the probe, whether it would result in prosecution or refund of monies confirmed to have been misappropriated or whether they would end up on the shelves to gather dust.