By Chinonso Alozie

Former governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, yesterday said he was not in anyway involved in the payment of pension fraudsters and that he only inherited the fraud from his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha.

Ihedioha spoke in Owerri, through the  former executive chairman of Pension Commission, Chime Aliliele, after the state government published names of eight persons who received N330 million  annually as pension from its probe  on pension fraud in Imo State.

According to Aliliele, “I have received hundreds of phone calls and WhatsApp messages in reference to a Vanguard publication  on July 4, 2020 under the above heading. As the executive chairman of Imo State Pension Commission under the Rebuild Imo administration of Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha, CON, I am forced once again for the second time since we left office to make clarifications on unfounded allegations against our pension reforms by the present government.

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“There is no doubt that there was pension fraud before the Ihedioha administration took over, hence the painstaking pension verification exercise we did.

“All pension payments during Ihedioha’s time were made electronically through BVN direct to the Bank account of pensioners. Every pensioner’s  account  number, bank, photograph, phone number and address are in our records. So, if there is any fraud by anybody, such should be arrested immediately.”

Vanguard