The funds used by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftain, Dr. Chris Ngige, to unsuccessfully campaign for election as governor of Anambra State in 2010 have been linked to the money which saw his sister, Ozoemena Maryrose Nwadike, being banned from practicing as a lawyer in the USA, as reported yesterday by News Express.

Ngige, currently a Senator, placed a distant second with 60,240 votes against the 97,843 votes scored by Mr. Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the February 6, 2010 ballot, and is warming up to take another shot at the coveted seat later this year on the platform of the emergent All Progressives Congress (APC).

The funds with which Ngige made the failed bid for election in 2010 were eventually traced to the account that led to Ozoemena being disbarred by the highest court of Maryland, USA, “for intentionally misappropriating funds held in a trust for clients.”

According to a report in The Daily Record of Baltimore, USA, “The court found Nwadike improperly transferred her own money into the client trust fund and paid personal bills from it. She also deposited into the fund money ostensibly set aside for an election campaign for her brother’s gubernatorial race in Nigeria.”

Another report by the paper said: “Bar Counsel’s investigation also uncovered money deposited into the trust earmarked for the election campaign of Christopher Ngige, Nwadike’s brother. It found that Nwadike put her own money into the trust and issued checks from the account for personal expenses.

“The Court of Appeals held that Nwadike violated several of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct, including safekeeping property, misconduct, required deposits, commingling funds, prohibited transactions and misuse of trust money.”

As reported yesterday by News Express quoting The Daily Record, Ozoemena has been banned indefinitely from working as a lawyer since August 2010.

•Photo shows Senator Ngige.