Controversy on payment of Rs43.4m to Pedo’s dismissed chief executive

A controversy has erupted against the payment of Rs43.4 million to Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation’s (Pedo) dismissed chief Akbar Ayub Khan. Going against merit, the PTI government had appointed Akbar Ayub as the chief executive of Pedo in 2015.

Audit officials have sought details from the dismissed chief executive regarding the salary that he was paid during the employment period, which amounts to almost Rs43.49 million. The officials, in the audit para, have demanded an explanation regarding the amount that was paid to him, including an additional amount of Rs3.51 million that he illegally received after his termination.

We tried to establish contact with Pedo Chief Financial Officer Saeed Ahmed Chughtai, but to no avail. Neither did he give answer to any message nor did he receive any call.

Talking to The News, Energy Secretary Engineer Naeem Khan said that a final decision would only be taken after consulting with the law department because Akbar Ayub continued to serve Pedo for some time even after his termination.

According to the documents received by The News, Audit Officer (Inspection) Fazal Maula had sent a letter to the assistant director (audit) of the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation. The letter number 1737-AO (Inspection) 2016 was sent on November 8, 2017.

In this letter, the audit officials have sought a response regarding the salaries that have been paid to the former Pedo chief and the facilities that he had availed. As per the audit para, it was highlighted that the high court, in its official order, had terminated Pedo’s former chief on June 7, 2017. By this time, Akbar Ayub had drawn salary of approximately 30 months, which amounted to approximately Rs4.19 million. Apart from this amount, the former chief of Pedo also received Rs1.5 million for petrol and TA/DA allowances.

According to the audit para, even after his termination by the high court on June 7, 2017, Akbar Ayub kept serving Pedo from June 8 to Aug 23 without any order from the Supreme Court. In this duration, Akbar Ayub was illegally paid Rs3.5 million (salaries and facilities). Even after the Supreme Court had rejected the application, no recovery was made from the former chief of Pedo because of which the organisation, itself, had to face losses.

As per the audit para, the former chief of Pedo was paid Rs43.4 million collectively and the audit officials have sought details of these transactions. The Pedo has its own explanation for giving away three-month salary to its former chief. According to its stance as per a letter, the Peshawar High Court had given a time-frame of two months to file his application in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. For this reason, according to the Pedo's stance, the former chief was given salaries and all facilities.

It is significant to highlight that Akbar Ayub was appointed as the Pedo chief on February 23, 2015. Even though he did not have an engineering degree, he was offered a monthly salary of Rs1.4 million, along with other facilities. However, on June 7, 2017, after considering the application of Pedo Union chief, the Peshawar High Court had terminated Akbar Ayub.

It is important to mention here that after the termination of Akbar Ayub, no one has been appointed as the chief executive of Pedo. However, Energy Secretary Naeem Khan has been give the additional charged of the Pedo chief.

When The News got in touch with Naeem Khan, he was not aware of the audit para. He said that if Pedo had received any audit para, then it would duly consult with the law department and then file a response.

On the other hand, he said that the former chief of Pedo diligently performed his duties throughout his appointment period. “If he was appointed through illegal means, then the concerned officials will be held responsible for it. The record of salaries paid to the former chief will also be sent to the law department; only after this process, and according to the advice of law department, action would be taken,” he concluded.