NEMA official says no agric input meant for Ebonyi was diverted

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says no relief agricultural input meant for flood affected farmers in nine local government areas of Ebonyi was diverted or sold.

The distribution of the relief materials was done between Sept. 28 and Oct. 27 after assessment, enumeration and capturing of the farmers who were affected by the 2020 floods in the nine council areas of Ebonyi.

The NEMA South-East Coordinator, Mr James Eze, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Enugu on Tuesday over an online social media post that he (Eze) diverted and sold relief materials meant for the flood affected farmers.

Eze said that no state within the zone, including Ebonyi, complained of a shortfall before, during and after the distribution.

He noted that the authorities of the local governments involved in Ebonyi were given advanced copies of the items they would get during the distribution exercise.

The zonal coordinator said that the “dubious and unsubstantial allegation“ claimed that the from the diversion and sales was used by him to buy property in Abuja and Lagos.

“The items supplied by NEMA were jointly received by state authorities and two NEMA officers who recorded all items supplied.

“No state complained of a shortfall. We give all local governments an advanced copy of the items they should expect during the exercise.

“The state authorities and other stakeholders signed a Certificate of Performance that was issued to NEMA staff and the agency’s headquarters,” he explained.

Eze described the “allegation is an extreme peddling of falsehood that only existed in the imagination of the writer”.

He said: “I never diverted any materials meant for farmers and I do not have even a square metre of land in Lagos or Abuja.

“The state where I superintendent, Ebonyi, gave my team accolades after the exercise and I do not know what it will benefit the person or those behind the malicious and falsified write-up against NEMA and me.

“Initially, I did not want to respond to the bizarre allegation and falsehood but it is necessary to put the records straight that there was nothing like diversion of agricultural inputs meant for farmers in the South-East let alone in Ebonyi,” he said (NAN)