It is no longer news that the Director General of the Imo Broadcasting Corporation, IBC, Sir James Egbuchulam didn’t complete a year in office before he was booted, what is gaining attention are the reported underhand practices of certain top ministry officials to defraud the government agency.
Since Egbuchulam was removed a week ago, the shoddy deals ravaging the state owned radio station have been unfolding gradually.
An impeccable source in the Ministry told Trumpeta Newspaper, on condition of anonymity, that the removed DG may have been a victim of suspected mafia group operating within the Information Ministry and the IBC.
According to the source, Sir Egbuchulam who would have clocked one year as IBC DG on 20th of November, 2021, was victimized for failing to compromise on certain issues related to the running of IBC. It was alleged that he was approached to have release a blank IBC receipt to effect the retirement of an amount running into more than five million naira, a deal the source said the removed DG had no knowledge about.
From what Trumpeta learnt, the embattled IBC DG was said to have gone further to direct Staff of his accounts department never to release any blank receipt to any person without his consent.
This development was said to have not gone down well that with an authority in the Ministry.
Again, a top official of the Ministry was said to have demanded the release of the sum of three hundred thousand naira monthly for the up keep of his security details in addition to a brokered deal of six hundred thousand naira paid every month for the up keep of the military who guide the IBC facilities.
Another issue was another monthly huge sum of money demanded by another top official of the Ministry. The Ministerial source said all these developments did not go down well with the DG who was said to have complained severally that the demands and expenses were eating deep into the IBC internally generated revenue through which the recalled contract staff are paid.
As a way of dealing with the DG, he was issued a query to explain why he has not retired a certain sum of a flight ticket he bought to attend a BON meeting in Abuja which he was directed not to attend.
Due to failure to retire the money, because the Airline operators said the ticket would be reactivated whenever he was to travel again, he was billed for sack.
Again, Sir James Egbuchulam was also asked to retire a certain sum as regards an accommodation he did not live out the rent paid as a result of relocation. He was said to have told his Principals that the landlord pleaded for time to balance the unlived tentage when a new tenant packs in.
Our source intoned that Sir James Egbuchulam’s reply to the query given him may have angered his Principals hence his removal.
Trumpeta further gathered that there were other allegations levelled against the Egbuchulam which led to his removal.
