Former Tubah Mayor indicted in more scandals

More embezzlement charges have been leveled against the former Mayor of Tubah, Stanilus Sofa Meji, who is currently under detention at the Bamenda Prison, awaiting trial for embezzling FCFA 47 million.

The said amount is said to be money allocated for building permits which Sofa and one of his Councillors, Engineer Emmanuel Geh, collected and never accounted for.

During the management and administrative accounts session of Tubah Council on April 17, Councillors still brought the issue of the former Mayor to the fore.

According to them, the Mayor used FCFA 26 million in transporting the Council’s furniture from the former Council premises near National Polytechnic to the new office situated along the Bambui-Fundong road.

Councillors interpreted this as outright thievery. Mayor Stanislaus Sofa is quoted to have said during one of the Council sessions before his arrest that he used FCFA 24 million to equip the new Council hall, figures which the Councillors are contesting.

The cost of the town hall which originally was voted by a Council deliberation stood at FCFA 119 million, but the former Mayor is said to have collected FCFA 230 million for the building. The controversy, according to councillors, stem from the fact that the Mayor outsmarted FIECOM to pay twice for the hall.

During the session, Councillors expressed worries that their lives and that of the council staff are not safe because the newly constructed hall has suddenly developed cracks. The conference room alone, where Council sessions are held and marriages conducted, has over 30 visible cracks on the wall.

The Mayor of Tubah, Martin Tanjong Meshongong, regretted that the council building, “which has been praised on several occasions is nothing but a death trap.”

In his address, Mayor Tanjong said the 2014 administrative and management accounts of the Council witnessed an increase from FCFA 256.5 million, collected out of FCFA 483.8 million budgeted in 2013, to FCFA 402.8 collected from FCFA 462.4 budgeted in the 2014 financial year.

The Mayor attributed these successes to hard work demonstrated by the staff, the building permit commission and Council executive.

“We could have performed better, if Councillors doubled their efforts in enforcing revenue collection in their various Council constituencies,” the Mayor said citing domains in revenue collection where there was levity to include; commercial bike riders, market tolls, vegetables and building permits.

Mayor Tanjong outlined the following as achievements in 2014: the grading and expansion of roads within the municipality, purchase of 100 chairs and 10 imported tables, construction of a poultry farm, holding of agric- show, support to palaces, electricity extension in Baforkum, Kedjom-Keku and Bambili Villages, ongoing electrification of Kedjom-Ketingoh, benches to schools, corrugated iron sheets to GTC, GTHS Kedjom-Ketingo and Kedjom-Keku, holiday jobs to 110 youths in Tubah, regular payment of staff salary and more.

On litigations, Tubah Council is in Court with the former Mayor, while the case between Martin Tanjong and Mayor of TubahCouncil was rolled in favour of the Council.

Concerning the disputed property and land at the former Council site at Tubah, where Bamenda III is requesting for the assets to be shared, Councillors were enraged that their Council was created more than 100 years ago “and that Bamenda III Council created in 2007 has no right to be requesting for sharing of assets.

According to Councillors, the Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam, who issued a letter creating a commission to probe into the matter, was being misled by a devil.

“Tubah Council was created during the South Eastern Federation of Nigeria, and when Ndop, Bafut, Wum and so on left, they never went with assets, not to talk of this baby born yesterday known as Bamenda III. What do they want to do with these collapsing buildings, the 1st Deputy Mayor asked.

The Assistant SDO for Mezam, Jean Pierre Dikome Dika, who presided at the meeting, assured Councillors that the problems will be solved amicably.

Meantime, Councillors raised FCFA 750,500 to support soldiers fighting Boko Haram.