Scribe in N15m fraud
…On the run over N3m visa scam
By Peter Edema
Snr.
Correspondent,
Lagos
A former Secretary
General of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) has allegedly defrauded
the Sports Ministry of the sum of N15 million.
The source did not
reveal the nature of the fraud committed by the said staff but that the scribe, who was transferred to
another department within the sports ministry’s office in Lagos because
of the alleged fraud, is also on the run because of his involment in a N3 million-visa racket.
It was learnt that
the staff collected the said amount from people with the promise to procure
them Schengen visa using the Athens Olympic Games.
Ministry sources
disclosed during the week that it has not taken any disciplinary measure
against the said staff because of his godfathers in Abuja.
The staff, the
source revealed, was queried by the sports development department of the sports
ministry and not the personnel department whose responsibility it is to handle
fraud cases.
“They have
turned a very serious issue bordering on fraud into an in house affair. It is
as if nothing happened. Those godfathers did not allow the right department to
handle the matter because of tribalism. “If the personnel had queried
him, then it becomes a matter to be handled by the ministry hierarchy with
disciplinary measures taken. “But this is not the case. It is as if the
ministry condones indiscipline by allowing staff to go scot- free when fraud is
committed,” the source lamented in Lagos during the week. The said official, it was learnt is on
the run because of about N3 million collected from people with the promise to
procure Schengen visa for them using the Athens Olympic Games.
However, luck ran
out for the staff when he was transferred from NTTF to another department
within the ministry that was not involved in the procurement of visa for
athletes for the Olympic Games.
Nigeria’s
participation in major Games have always been an avenue by most secretaries of sporting
federations to procure visas for
none athletes for a fee.
The staff had
collected the said amount from Nigerians and had failed to deliver as expected.
His clients are now on his neck, asking for a refund.
