Former Director of Finance, Abia State Government House, Mr. Jones Udeogu, revealed at his trial at the Federal High Court, Lagos that he had no direct access to governor let alone determine the expenditure of the Government House account.
Udeogu is the co-accused in the trial of Kalu in an alleged N7.2 billion fraud charge levelled against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He disclosed that based on civil service rules, he had no direct contact with the former governor or take orders from him but from his Chief of Staff, Theodore Orji who also managed Government House funds.
He said, “According to Civil Service Rules, nobody can bypass the Chief of Staff to see or take orders from the governor. All the directors take orders from the Chief of Staff, unit heads take orders from their various directors and it is only the Chief of Staff that can give approval for who gets what from the Government House bank accounts.
He further denied making payment of funds to the account of Slok Nigeria Ltd which currently belongs to the former Governor, who is currently a senator.
