3 Billion Naira Fund: Post-election Violence Victims Accuse Committee Of Sharp Practices

channelstv.com

Some victims of the 2011 post-election violence in Kaduna State, who were excluded from the list of beneficiaries of the three billion Naira Federal Government Assistance Fund have accused the committee saddled with the responsibility of disbursing the fund of sharp practices.

The said that the committee deliberately removed a large number of them from the list of beneficiaries.

The Federal Government released the money just three weeks ago for onward disbursement to those affected by the crisis.

But the victims who spoke to Channels Television in Kaduna on Thursday, explained bitterness on how they lost their houses and businesses during the post election crisis in the state in 2011.

They lamented that despite waiting patiently close to four years for the Federal Government’s assistance, the committee had dashed their hope by excluding them from the list.

Diverting Money

They explained that their destroyed houses, shops and other property were verified and short listed by the Federal Government team that were in the state to ascertain the level of destruction.

The post-election violence victims vowed to petition President Goodluck Jonathan and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to “intervene in the matter and make sure that the fund get to the real beneficiaries”.

One of them, Kalu Idika, whose eatery was burnt down by hoodlums, alleged that the committee altered the list and imported strange names for the purpose of diverting part of the money.

He called on Governor Mukhtar Yero to intervene to ensure that their names were captured in the list.

But the secretary of the committee denied the allegation, stating that the committee was only working with the original list sent to the state from Abuja, and had no power to remove any victim from the list.

In a telephone interview with Channels Television, he denied allegation that the committee diverted the fund meant for the victims.

Violence started in 2011 after the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Goodluck Jonathan, was declared winner. Upon the announcement, angry youths took to the streets, destroying property and killing people.

Kaduna, like some other states across the federation recorded the highest loss, with many people killed and property worth billions destroyed.

After the post-election violence and civil disturbances in some states, President Jonathan set up a panel of enquiry to among other things, identified the spread and extent of losses suffered across the country.

Four years after, it is expected that those saddled with the responsibility of disbursing the fund to the victims, should do so in the spirit of equity and fairness.