In the face of biting economic situation, the leader of Enugu Youths, Comr. Bartholomew Ebuka Okoh has returned the sum of Ten Million Naira (N10, 000,000) mistakenly sent to his account.
According to WITHIN NIGERIA source, the money was sent from the account of Sir Robert Anwatu, the owner of Roban Stores Ltd.
Explaining his delight over the honest attitude of the youth leader, Sir Robert Anwatu said “Despite the alarming state of crime rates amongst young people in the country, there are a lot of Nigerian youths with proven integrity who should be emulated and good works made known.”
Comrade Okoh who is also the Executive Assistant to the state Governor while sympathizing with Sir Anwatu for wrongfully sending the money into his account however explained that, as a business man, he understands what it means to loose such amount of money but as a youth leader, he is duty bound to uphold ethical principles and live by example.
He stated that, when the incident happened, he did not think twice to return it because, it is not his own and knows that, someone could loose his or her life or develop a terminal ailment due to the shock of loosing such amount of money.
According to him, “when I got the alert, the money came at a time when I really needed it but I knew it is not mine and nobody could have sent such to me as at the time it was sent.
‘I did not even think twice about returning it because, it was not mine.
” Although, I had no intentions of hoarding the money or using it to solve my personal problems but, a lot of temptations came from some friends who I consulted for advice, to divert the money.
“I had to call my account officer to trace where the money was from and to know if he knew any person by the name Robert Anwatu.
“Few minutes later, my account officer called me and said that the person bearing the name is owner of Roban Stores before we started the process of returning the money to the owner “
Asked about his feelings after retuning the money, Hon Okoh stated that, he felt fulfilled and had peace of mind, because, he came from a Christian family in Uhuona Ugbawka ; who are renowned for their display of absolute integrity.
“I feel super excited and good. I feel fulfilled because, I came from a family in Uhuona Ugbawka, where we are known to be principled
”Also as a Leader, I should lead by example. I know that, no matter how rich the owner of the money is, loosing such amount will definitely affect his business and probably his mental health.
‘I also know that the account officers might loose their jobs too for making such a dangerous mistake .So I had to do everything possible to save the situation.”
Reports also had it that, the owner of Roban stores, Chief Robert Anwatu put up a phone call to Comrade Okoh and expressed his heartfelt appreciation with an assurance that such a rare gesture would be greeted with an astonishing appreciation in due time.