How Plateau Rights Disability Commission Chairman, Lalu Allegedly Embezzled N15 Million Received From Governor Lalong
- Disability Commission chair debunks allegation of receiving money from governor
- Says members arrested for selling wheelchairs
Yakubu Busari
What was a kind gesture from a Good Samaritan heart displayed by the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong to the people living with disabilities, is gradually turning into a scam and racketeering by the same beneficiaries.
The Chairman of Disabilities Commission, Mr. James Lalu has been accused of allegedly receiving N15 million from Gov. Lalong over free wheelchairs donated by an international NGO based in London.
The equipment was distributed to the people living with disabilities across the 17 local government areas in the state as part of the governor’s promise to elevate their plights.
However, the chairman has debunked the allegation of him collecting huge amount of money while the beneficiaries fingered him for mismanagement and singlehandedly running the affairs of the commission, he refuted their claims as baseless, saying the donor asked Governor Simon Lalong to pay the counterpart fund which was paid before the equipment were brought here through their agent in Lagos.
According to him, when the equipment arrived and they all checked them thoroughly to ensure that every one of the persons listed with any form of disability benefit from the equipment which include sewing machines, trading facilities, etc.
Meanwhile, on the issue of some of their members caught selling their tricycles, Lalu said they discovered some of the tricycles recently distributed to the people living with disability to aid their mobility, were found to be in shops and were openly displayed in the market and they immediately invited the police and the culprits were arrested.
The chairman complained bitterly that the tricycles given through the magnanimity of the governor to the persons living with disability have suddenly found its way into an open market for sale.
Lalu said the most annoying part of the whole thing was that they just sell these tricycles at a giveaway price at a very low price of seven thousand in the open market.
He repeated the warning of the governor that on no account should any of the items be sold but the culprits disregarded such warning and went ahead to do what they did.
The governor was quoted to have said, “I want to warn you the beneficiaries of the items today, the government will not be happy to see it at the open market, the item is given to you to aid in your challenges”.
The chairman said when the Commission got wind of the items being sold by the physically challenged Persons; it swung into action and invaded the stores that were involved.
His words: “When we got the information that some of the beneficiaries were selling theirs, we swung into action and invaded the stores, and we were able to recover more than seven of the tricycles in one store.
“Those who bought the equipment were arrested, taken to the police station, and were later released because they were first offenders but after they were made to sign an undertaken ,while we brought the tricycles to the Commission’s office and reallocated to people who we felt really know the importance of the equipment”.
