Imagine the amount of money these people stole meanwhile coppers are kept in cages called coppers lodges

FINANCIAL MISAPPROPRATION IN NYSC DELTA STATE BY MR OMOTADE AYODELE BENJAMIN OUTGOING DIRECTOR SOUTH SOUTH AREA OFFICE AND MRS OLUTAYO SAMUEL NYSC DELTA STATE COORDINATOR.

The continued search for a solution to the problem of poor economic management due to financial misappropriation in the public sector mainly in agencies the public would ordinarily not look at has necessitated this investigation.
The Director General of NYSC Brigadier-General Ibrahim Shuaibu in an interview with Punch Newspaper dated 13th March 2021 stated that over 30 Senior Staff members of the Scheme were dismissed for several offences including misconduct and indiscipline. He further stated that the said dismissal was said to have been recommended in a report of a disciplinary committee and ratified by the National Governing Board of the NYSC and that efforts were being put in place to ensure every employee must abide by the ethics of the Scheme. One would begin to wonder why the brazen abuse of public funds and misappropriation of State subvention by Mr Omotade Ayodele Benjamin and Mrs Olutayo Samuel has been condoned by the Director General and NYSC governing board.
Section 7(3) of Decree No. 51 of 16th June 1993 requires all state government to release to State Coordinators an annual subvention to carter for the welfare of corps members during the service year. The use of the state subvention judiciously with emphasis on corps welfare will go a long way to alleviate the economic hardship faced by corps members.
Consequently, there is a uniform guideline in the disbursement of the funds to ensure discipline and accountability.
Accordingly, State subvention should as much as possible be channelled into the following areas;
ORIENTATION COURSE PROGRAMME: 10% is recommended for orientation course outside the normal provision of physical facilities by the State Government.
ZONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES: 20% of the state subvention is recommended for the NYSC Zonal and Local Government offices.
MAINTANANCE OF CORPS MEMBERS LODGES: 7.5% of state subvention would be used for this purpose.
DRUGS: 10% for the purpose of drugs
CORPS EMPLOYERS FORUM: 5% is to service such forum
CORPS INSPECTION: 10% of the subvention is for inspection of corps members at state level.
PUBLICITY AND PUBLICATIONS: 5% should be for expenditure on publicity of the activities of Corps members like End of service magazines which corp members are forced to pay from N1000 to as much as N3000.
WINDING UP AND PASSING OUT PROGRAMMES: 10% should be used for this purpose.
GAMES SPORTS AND DRAMA: 7.5% of state subvention should be used for this purpose.
MAINTENANCE OF OFFICE ACCOMODATION: 5% should be used for the maintenance of office accommodation.
CORPS LAISON OFFICER (CLO): 5% of the state subvention should be allocated to them as their transport allowance.
CONTIGENCY: 5% is for this purpose.
It is instructive to note that despite the above detailed plan of how state subvention should be spent, Mr Omotade Ayodele Benjamin and Mrs Olutayo Samuel between January 2017 to date have misappropriated over 250 million naira given to NYSC Delta State as State subvention.
Mr Omotade Ayodele Benjamin who until his appointment as NYSC Director Corps Welfare and Health Services at the NDHQ Abuja was the immediate past NYSC Delta State Coordinator from August 2016 to December 2019 where he supervised the misappropriation of over 160 million naira that was paid to him by Delta State Government. During his tenure as State Coordinator Mr Omotade lived an opulence live style, having sexual affairs with female corps members as well as female member’s of staff (Mrs Doris Erumwunse popularly known as Lady D, which on many occasions, was sighted at Mr Omatade's private residence in camp during lights out. She was particularly seen in June 2017 orientation camp during the 2017 junior staff recruitment with her pyjamas in Mr Omotade's residence, this is a man who claims to be a pastor of the Christ Apostolic Church). His sexual activities with Lady D were an open secret as he was caught severally with her. He later transferred her to a neighbouring state to avoid scandal when his wife got wind of it. A self acclaimed man of God Mr Omotade uses intimidation, harassment and oppression to harass members of staff and corps members. He was ruthless and feared by both Corps members and his colleagues. No one dares question his activities as he neither followed laid down civil service rules during his tenure as state coordinator NYSC delta state . He boasted at every meeting held with staffs and functions that “I cannot give you a job but I can help you lose it if you cross me”. Female staffs specially married women were targeted and posted away from their local government area of residence EG Ughelli to warri, Sapele to Ughelli etc. He administered NYSC Delta state like his private firm creating an atmosphere of fear to enable him subdue members of staff so as to embezzle money meant for the running of the office unchallenged. He boasted that he had the DG under his arm and would deal ruthlessly with anyone that crosses his path a treat he carried out successfully when he orchestrated the sacking of two members of staff and transferred two others to Benue and Yobe where they have since been summarily dismissed from service.
At the expiration of his tenure as NYSC Delta State Coordinator, Mr Omotade had amassed so much wealth illegally acquiring properties and cars in Abuja, Lagos ,Delta and his home state Ekiti. He ensured he was made the Director South South area office which is also located in Delta State so as to enable him continue his nefarious activities. He further ensured his big sister as she refers to him was posted to Delta state to enable him continue to have access to delta state NYSC cuffers.
Mrs Olutayo Samuel’s one year and Four months stay as state coordinator NYSC delta state so far has been problematic with wide spread corruption and misappropriation of public funds. A puppet of Mr Omotade who lacks Manegerial, administrative skills and emotional intelligence has been at loggerhead with members of staff and labour as a result of her handling of administrative and welfare matters. One would be begin to wonder how such a person was made state coordinator when she lacks decorum and ability to organize herself. She embezzled COVID19 palliatives donated by Delta state government that was meant for corps members as well as staff at such a time when corps members and staffs where going through difficult time as a result of the lockdown. Those who did their orientation camp in Delta state between November 2019 to the just concluded orientation course would attest to the shoddy handling of the orientation camp program. From poor quality of food to constant lack of water and medication at the camp clinic which led to the death of an Assistant Director on camp despite receiving over 80million naira as state subvention from delta state government and additional money for running the camp from NYSC headquarters.
It is on record that she claimed to use the sum of 8million naira to cut grass in camp a claim which is not only false but laughable as NYSC delta state camp is not sambissa forest.
Despite the huge allocation given to Mrs Olutayo Samuel by NYSC headquarters and supplemented by state subvention from Delta state government for the running and maintenance of the NYSC Delta state secretariat, the office continues to look like an old motor park with dilapidated office furniture and non existent working materials to the extent senior members of staff including Assitant directors don’t have chairs to sit on neither do they have tables to write. Officers use their personal money to type documents and make photocopies. The office allocated to SAED AND PRS Branch is nothing to write home about as the said office is seen as a dumping ground for alleged erring officers which was started by Mr Omotade. The said offices has been reduced to a correctional centre by the NYSC management in Delta State.
Corps lodges in areas like Asaba,Warri and Ughelli were 80% of corps members are posted to are totally nonexistent and were they are available they are not even habitable for animals to live more or less corps members.
One now begins to wonder why despite glaring evidence of the activities of Mr Omotade and Mrs Olutayo the Director General of NYSC that prides himself as an Anti corruption Czar has looked away while millions of naira meant for the above enumerated points are carted away, but he is quick to recommend the dismissal of mid ranking officers that committed minor infractions.
Would one be right to say that the director General NYSC is benefiting from the brazen Corruption going on in NYSC formations Nationwide and in particular Delta state?