Charges of fraud in ASCSN baseless, frivolous—-Apebo, Scribe

UFOMBA UZUEGBU
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, has dismissed as baseless,frivolous and false allegations that over $1 billion (one billion US dollars) of the Union’s funds has been embezzled.
In a statement issued in Lagos today,(26th July, 2024), the ASCSN Secretary-General, Comrade Joshua Apebo, enjoined its teeming members throughout the country and the general public to discountenance such unfounded wild allegations.
“How much did the Union generate as check-off dues between 2021–2022 when Comrade Alade Bashir Alade was the Secretary-General that he embezzled $1 billion?”, it queried.
It stressed that it is only in Nigeria that a faceless group like the so called Nigerian Anti- Corruption Defenders Network could make such unfounded allegation to impugn the character of Innocent citizens and get away with it.
According to ASCSN, there had been various publications detailing Nigerians owning properties in Dubai,United Arab Emirates and Comrade Lawal never featured in any of them.
” Besides,how can it really be expected that Comrade Lawal, an accomplished economist and expert investor who started his career in the Nigeria Railways in the 1980s, had a distinguished career in the civil service to wit: National Bureau of Statistics before he joined the Association and ultimately became the Secretary-General in 2012 not have a roof over his head in Lagos ?
‘Certainly, there must be a limit to irrationality on the part of those bent on destroying the Association because of their inordinate ambition, greed and impunity”, the Union stated.
The Union regretted that since Bola-Audu Innocent was asked by the Union to step aside following his arrest and detention by the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, on 22nd February, 2021,for alleged case of human trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable persons, he has vowed to destroy the Union.
Since then, according to the statement, he (Bola-Audu), had written countless petitions to EFCC ,ICPC, among others, accusing the leadership of the Union of all manner of false allegations, including the sale of the Union’s property in Abuja, all of which were found to be false by the anti-graft operatives.
“It is therefore, unfortunate that Bola-Audu has resumed another round of same allegations he earlier made in 2021 and sent to the same anti-graft agencies”, the Union regretted.