Report of the Inquiry into the Administration of the Affairs of the Igbo-Etiti District Council
Date
1956
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ENugu:Government Printer, Eastern Region,
Abstract
• Introduction and Procedural Overview of the Public Inquiry • General Assessment of Evidence and Witnesses • Examples of Maladministration in Relation to Staff (Daily Paid Labour, Messengers, Clerical Appointments, Midwives, and Tax Staff Employment) • Examples of Maladministration in the Award of Contracts (Perverse Tendering, Chairman as a Contractor, Office Block Contract, Nkpologu Buildings, and Tailoring Contracts) • Maladministration in General (The Cash Tank Fraud at Opi and Financial Administration Deficits) • Relationship Between the Secretary (Mr. G. U. Ojobor) and the Councillors • Conclusions of the Inquiry
Description
This Official government report documents the public inquiry conducted by Acting Resident F. P. Cobb in August 1955 regarding the administrative and financial affairs of the Igbo-Etiti District Council in Onitsha Province, Eastern Nigeria. Initiated amidst widespread public indignation and following intervention by regional members of the House of Assembly and local welfare associations, the inquiry investigated the council's operations during its first seventeen months of existence. The report details extensive evidence uncovering systemic corruption, widespread administrative perversity, and gross inefficiency in staff appointments and the awarding of public contracts. Key findings highlight irregularities in job placements, bribery surrounding clerical and trade contracts, financial fraud involving municipal assets such as the Opi cash tank, and a severe budgetary deficit exceeding current assets by six thousand pounds. The inquiry concludes that while the Council's secretary, G. U. Ojobor, served as the primary architect and center of these corrupt practices, the elected councillors were active parties who shared in the illicit gains. Ultimately, the report determines that the council failed to administer public revenues in the interest of the community or in accordance with the spirit of the Eastern Region Local Government Law