According to Ugbala, the said empowerment is not known to the government nor NIRSAL they claimed to be partnering with.
Speaking with journalists in his office, Dr Ugbala confirmed that some of the fraudsters including one Mrs Theresa Igwe who is also a suspected member have been arrested and handed over to the police for proper investigation and punishment. He described the action as culpable of steering mishap in the society.
Ugbala who said a lot of empowerment programme has been done in the State without any demand for PVC and cash warned citizens not to allow themselves to be used by criminals.
His words: “We got information that some individuals are collecting money from people all in the name of registering them for Akubaraoha agricultural programme and loans. We know that the state government has done much in terms of empowerment.
“The most annoying thing is not just that these people are collecting money, they ask people to give them their PVC numbers which is not only economical sabotage but they are on assignment.
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No one even the federal government or state has the right to demand your PVC registration number before they give you a loan or grant. These people collect such and also collect BVN number with 2000 naira.
“Most recently, the government empowered civil servants through BOI loan for them not to depend on salary alone. But unfortunately, some people are colliding with all these things to extort money from the public.”
“The lady with us here claim to be working with Ebonyi State Universal Education Board, teaching in Oharugo primary school in Ezza North and an indigene of Ezza North Local Government.
“We are surprised that some of our youths caught the woman in charge when there were extorting money from the people telling them it was Governor Umahi empowerment program. And they were doing it in the platform of NISREL.”
He also said: “When I contacted the director of in Ebonyi State, Clement Anofie, he told me over the phone that they have such program under their watch and that they don’t have any agent anywhere and they are not collecting money.
“We are worried as a government according to this woman here who was caught collecting money from people, she said she has collected money from 25 person and the persons spearheading it is Augustine Njoku together with one Hon Nwali.
“We are dealing with the person who is here and we will make sure that every person who is mentioned here is apprehended and we will never allow our people to be sabotage.
“I want to use this medium to tell the public that there has never been any empowerment program the state government is doing that they request for PVC registration number or BVN not even in the one done a few days ago,” Ugbala stated.
However, Hon Mark Onu, Special Assistant to Governor David Umahi on youth mobilization said when he contacted the owner of the number in the message sent to the people, the man Augustine Njoku pleaded to him to allow them to continue the process promising to give him three hundred thousand naira. One maintained that the negotiations confirmed to him that there are real fraudsters.
Reacting to the allegations, the suspect Mrs Theresa Igwe explained that she was not part of the organizers that she received a text message for the programme the same way other victims do and regretted why she will be used as a scapegoat.
“I received a text message from NIRSAL to come for training on the 14 of last month after which six of us were selected to teach other farmers. On another date, we received another text to come for training as facilitators for the programme and we had people from NIRSAL and CBN in attendance and they said every participant would register with them.
And today, we received another text for training and when I came Njoku gave me a paper to be registering people when Hon Mark Onu and neighbourhood watch members came around. When I went to meet them they asked what we were doing, that it was a scam, I refuted it telling them it was NIRSAL program that I have attended it before and they asked me to enter their vehicle and the brought me to government house,” she said.
Francis Onele who narrated his ordeal said he received a text message to come for the program and the message reads: “U r invited 2 NIRSAL/CBN/AKUBARAOHA to 2nd phase train/doc/Reg come with: 1file, 2 passports, Acct N0, BVN, PVC/Reg money. @St Theresa Cath.Church. 08063942024.”
and then