Delta Youth Commissioner, Weyinmi thwarts bid to defraud state

With a bogus but well orchestrated claim of working for the World Bank in a project designed to boost access to profitable ventures by youths, a group of four men boldly sought to defraud the Delta State Government in a programme which implementation was factored in US dollars.
But they met more than their match in Commissioner for Youth Development, Agbateyiniro Weyinmi, fondly addressed as Agbass who unravelled the audacious bid of the fraudsters.
With the scheme blowing in their face, the men resorted to blackmailing the Commissioner with the false allegation that one of them was slapped by Weyinmi.
“As the Commissioner for Youth Development in Delta State, I am saddled with the responsibility of managing one of the most special demographics in the state, the youth. It is special because this is where you have the activities of the good, the bad and the ugly. Sometimes, when you are enthusiastic to achieve certain goals, some people may try to take advantage of you”, Weyinmi said of his encounter with the men.
Recalling the first encounter, he said their leader who introduced himself as Pero, an Itsekiri, claimed that he is working with the World Bank fund for the development of youths and that the Office of Director of Budget in Abuja was involved in promoting the project. He said that as one of his friends handling the youth portfolio, he needed help from me to secure appointment with the Governor of the state, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori.
“In all honesty, I was excited about the prospects in his proposition and began making contacts for them to secure appointment with the Governor. But as is always my strategy, I decided to make routine inquiries on the true status of the men. What I found out was an eye opener”, the Commissioner said.
Weyinmi said based on their claim that women are projected to be major beneficiaries of the project, he decided to contact the Ministry of Women Affairs for their input. That also led to the involvement of the Ministry of Economic Planning.
“In the process of evaluating the proposal, it became crystal clear that the entire thing was a bogus claim. When I confronted their leader to show proof that the project did not just involve the World Bank but that he is acting on their behalf, he became incoherrent. Of course, their scheme was unravelled”, Weyinmi said.
“The wonderful thing was that we had not got to the stage where they could have met the governor. Their scheme was to get the Government of Delta State as Pproject partners by contributing a huge sum of money which would have been factored in dollars. Having been unravelled, Pero and his team resorted to blackmail. However, I am proud of what my colleagues and I did in thwarting them.
“There is no truth whatsoever in their claim of physical harassment. Nobody slapped anyone. As a law abiding citizen, I am aware that physically assaulting anyone which is their claim amounts to is an offence. I couldn’t have done that. Their allegation is the product of frustration when they realised that the game was up for them”, Weyinmi stated.