Olawale Olaleye
15 January 2008
Lagos — Former first couple of Cross River State, Donald and Onari Duke, yesterday reacted to allegations of fraud against them, describing it as a cheap campaign designed to smear them.
They also denied media reports that they had been invited by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to appear for questioning, although they claimed not to be averse to any such invitation.
Some newspapers reported yesterday that the couple were billed to appear at the ICPC office in Abuja today for questioning with respect to allegations of fraudulent deductions from council funds when the husband was governor of the state.
The reports also alleged that the governor had directed money meant for poverty alleviation programme of the state be managed by a non-governmental organisation, Enterprise Nigeria Foundation (ENF) which had Onari as chairperson. The reports further stated that the poverty alleviation commission in the state was later made to endorse a Memorandum of Understan-ding (MOU) with the NGO to utilise the money for the projects.
But Onari, who spoke to THISDAY, produced documents to deny the reports.
Giving graphical details of her involvement with the organisation and the empowerment project, the former first lady said Enterprise Africa, an arm of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), had sought to establish its arm in Nigeria in 2000 when the idea was brought about by its African regional director, Alan Kyerematen, Ghana's Minister of Commerce.
She said the idea to have a Nigerian Enterprise had failed two times when it was still being handled by UNCTAD. But Kyerematen thought he could revive it and make it efficient as in other countries where the programme had turned out a huge success.
When Kyerematen approached the former governor to dsicuss the idea, Onari said he also suggested that he needed a high profile person with weight and business sense who could manage it, hence her name surfaced and she offered to coordinate it. Besides, the Ghanaian minister was said to have noted that countries where the programme had succeeded was as a result of government support, hence the need to have government backing.
The programme, she said, started in 2000 but became more effective in 2001 and was commissioned in 2002 by former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
"Upon installation, ENF commenced capacity building programmes at two levels; SME and Micro Enterprises. And with regards to micro enterprise, emphasis was focussed on unemployed youths and women in order to tackle situations in the state that were marked with riots and armed banditry," she stated.
Onari also noted that she had been managing and sustaining the programme with the support of donors until her husband saw the effect of the programme in 2003 and decided to be part of it, more so when it was clear it would help boost the tourism initiative of the state government.
"Consequently, at the beginning of the Duke's second term in 2003, ENF was requested to redesign the empowerment programme in order to give all the local governments the opportunity to benefit from the programme. Thereafter, we presented a proposal to the state government to develop micro credit programmes for the state and local governments, the main objective being to mentally and economically empower the youths, unemployed men and women in the state through micro and small medium enterprises.
"This was to help reduce pressure on government as the sole provider of employment for the people and ultimately, create a reservoir of skilled and well-trained youths. Mind you, the state government at that time, had no organisation with the scope to handle such a programme effectively," she noted.
Convinced that the idea would work well for the state, Onari said an MOU outlining the terms and conditions of the programme and named People Empowerment Initiative (PEPI) was signed. And given the heightened political and social unrest in Calabar in 2003, it was agreed that the programme be launched in the state capital.
"The state machinery was fully deployed to promote this programme as a micro credit repayment programme and all the government functionaries were present when the programme was flagged off by the governor for the first 152 beneficiaries where he stressed the repayment nature of the programme, among other requirements.
"A total of 2,558 beneficiaries were empowered by ENF under the various programmes executed for the Cross River State Government. They ranged from PEPI, KEKE NAPEP mass transit, Glo mobile telecoms, small family poultry, sustainable livelihood in Buanchor, Boki local government and empowerment of the six federal prisons in the state.
"So, government, after the signing of the agreement, provided N40 million in 2003 to fund Calabar South and the next two local governments - Ikom and Etung. Thereafter, funding for the programme came from the monthly one million naira from each of the local governments, although with their nomination list. So, the total funding from the state government came to the sum of N436 million.
"The first two programmes were repayment programmes of which the repayment as at date is at 40 per cent of the N233 million loans to the beneficiaries in these two programmes. That, to me, is world class. We all know that this is why banks don't give loans, but we made the difference. As you know, the key success of any loan programme is highly dependent on the quality of borrowers and PEPI was no exception," she said.
On the issue of accountability, Mrs. Duke said the accounts as managed was regularly audited through the office of the auditor-general of the state, adding also that as an organisation, ENF has its annual report which is a public document. "But let me quickly say that there is a Federal Government policy that says one per cent of the budget must go into micro finance. So, the state has not done anything out of place or that it should not do".
Onari however said the success of the programme has created a conducive platform that has placed the state as number one tourist destination in the country, in addition to putting it on the world map. Calabar, she said, is today peaceful because of a programme like this.
"It has practically taken the youths off the streets. Today, my joy is seeing the youth (boys and girls) who were up in arms against each other, now calling to update me about their businesses. And in spite of the smear campaign, I'll continue to support these youth and women to give them an opportunity to live a better life and add value to their environment. You'll be surprised that I also relate with them at different levels. I fellowship with them and give them the self-confidence to tackle challenges of life.
"For the records, my primary business is trading. I am a sole distributor for Uncle Ben's rice in Nigeria and now, we have started our local brand called the African Heritage Rice which factory is at the Free Trade Zone in Calabar. And perhaps, I'll be the only ex-first lady who still lives in a rented apartment," she said.
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