Governor, 7 others indicted in alleged N6.5billion fraud
- The EFCC is currently probing a serving governor, a former governor and 6 others over an arms deal
- Funds from the deal have been traced to a foreign car dealership and offshore accounts
- The alleged fraud was perpetrated by the defunct Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Security
A report by The Nation indicates that a serving governor is topping the list of suspects being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for an alleged N6,549,942, 637.14 fraud in an arms deal.
The immediate past governor of Kogi state, Captain Idris Wada, a former chairman of a new generation bank, Mr Tunde Ayeni, retired Air Vice Marshal Salihu Atawodi and four others are also said to be under scrutiny by the anti-graft commission.
According to the report, the alleged fraud was perpetrated by the defunct Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Security (PICOMSS), which was headed by Atawodi.
Source: UGC
The serving governor was alleged to have received N1, 475, 144,199.15 of the withdrawn cash for the purpose of lobbying members of the House of Representatives to convert PICOMS into an agency. The name proposed was the Maritime Security Agency.
The governor was chairman of the house committee on national security, intelligence and public safety at the time and he was said to have convinced Atawodi’s PICOMS to part with the cash.
At the moment, four governors out of the 36 serving across Nigeria are former House of Representatives members.
They are Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto and Aminu Masari of Katsina. Tambuwal and Masari are both former Speakers of the House.
Sources quoted in the report said the governor was initially cooperating with the EFCC on the investigation, only to stop honouring the invitation.
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Meanwhile, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a non-governmental organisation, has listed seven reasons why Nigeria keeps sliding back in the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
The CPI released globally by Transparency International on Thursday, January 23, revealed that Nigeria has further slipped down in the perception of corruption in 2019.
CISLAC noted that the Buhari administration has introduced some policies to curb corruption but they are not enough.
Recently, the Attorney General of the Federation and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN said Nigeria’s justice sector has recorded tremendous success in speedy implementation of justice in 2019.
He stated this on Thursday, January 2 when he appeared on a programme on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).
According to him, his ministry’s policies in 2019 have succeeded in deepening Nigeria’s democratic process by pushing for legislation and constitutional amendments.
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‘Buhari’s aide can be disloyal to him in Nigeria’s interest’ | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
