Tackle me with facts, EFCC boss replies Matawalle

Forum 11 months ago

Tackle me with facts, EFCC boss replies Matawalle

The diatribe between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, took a new twist yesterday, as chairman of the anti-graft agency, Abdulrashid Bawa, challenged Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State to come up with facts about his corruption, maintaining that no human being was 100 per cent clean.

He, Bawa spoke on a day the commission said the governor’s attack on its operations was informed by the fact that it was currently investigating him over allegations of corruption. Award of phanton contracts and diversion of over N70 billion.

Recall that Governor Matawalle had on Wednesday challenged the EFCC to stop beaming its searchlight only on governors, but also focus its attention on the Presidency and cabinet ministers in its anti-corruption fight.

However, speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa Service monitored in Kaduna yesterday, the EFCC chairman said the commission had its peculiar ways of investigating corrupt leaders, adding that the alleged crime of one person shouldn’t be allowed to be linked to another innocent person.

He said the commission was currently quizzing a former minister on a N25 billion case he was allegedly involved in.

Meanwhile, the EFCC announced yesterday it was currently investigating the governor over allegations of monumental corruption, award of phantom contracts, and diversion of over N70 billion.

EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Osita Nwajah, who made the announcement, said the investigation was a result of the commission’s lawful activities, aimed at fighting corruption in the country.

He said the governor’s recent outburst against the EFCC was an uncomfortable exertion arising from the heat of the commission’s lawful activities, dismissing it as a pure case of corruption fighting back.

Nwajah said the commission would not be deterred in its efforts to ensure that corrupt individuals were brought to justice.

“But the real issue with Matawalle is that he is being investigated by the EFCC, over allegation of monumental corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70billion.

“The money which was sourced as loan from an old generation bank purportedly for the execution of projects across the local government areas of the state, was allegedly diverted by the governor through proxies and contractors who received payment for contracts that were not executed.

“The commission’s investigations so far reveal that more than 100 companies have received payments from the funds, with no evidence of service rendered to the state. Some of the contractors who had been invited and quizzed by the Commission, made startling revelations on how they were allegedly compelled by the governor to return the funds received from the state coffers back to him through his aides after converting the same to United States Dollars.

“They confirmed that they did not render any service to Zamafara state but were allegedly directed to convert the monies paid to them into United States Dollar and return to the State governor through some of his commissioners, notably the commissioners in charge of finance and local government affairs.

“One of the contractors, a popular Abuja property developer, collected N6billion on a N10billion contract without rendering any service to Zamfara state. Another contractor collected over N3billion for a contract for the supply of medical equipment but the Commission traced a payment of N400million from his account to a Bureau de Change operator. The contractor confessed the payment was to procure the dollar equivalent allegedly for the state governor,” Nwajah said.

He disclosed that as part of the extensive investigation of contracts awarded by Matawalle’s administration, especially for phantom projects in the local government areas, the commission recovered N300million from a company, Fezel Nigeria Limited, stressing that the funds were traced to Zamfara Investment Company.

According to him, EFCC’s investigation is the source of anxiety in Government House, Gusau, with the governor in mortal dread of his fate once he stepped down as governor on May 29.

Nwajah noted that governors and their deputies enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution while in office, a reason he said the EFCC was yet to arrest Governor Matawalle.

He reiterated that the issue with Matawalle had nothing to do with plea bargain or the transparency of EFCC’s asset recovery and disposal process.

been a beneficiary. Plea bargain is a practice established by law, and the commission has never gone outside of the law in the application of this principle.

”If Matawalle has any evidence of abuse of plea bargain process, he is at liberty to make the disclosure.

It is intriguing that Matawalle would want to take on the role of a supervisor who tells the EFCC whom to investigate. Is this a case of a ‘thief’ saying he must not be touched until other ‘thieves’ are caught?

“Unfortunately, it is not within Matawalle’s remit to dictate to the EFCC whom to arrest, when and where. Suspects in the custody of the commission cut across all sectors and social class.

“The qualification to get a space in the commission’s detention facility is to commit a crime. It does not matter whether you are a priest, Imam, governor or minister.

”Currently, a former minister of power is in the custody of the EFCC over a N22billion corruption allegation. That conveniently did not attract Matawalle’s attention.

“Of course, these shenanigans are not strange. They appear to play out in cycles, particularly when the nation is in political transition. Virtually all the predecessors of the incumbent EFCC chairman suffered similar indignity in the hands of politically exposed persons under investigation for corruption.

”Who among the former chairmen of the commission was not accused of pilfering recovered assets? The commission would like to put the nation on notice to expect more of the kind of wild allegations made by Matawalle as those at the receiving end of EFCC’s investigations, fight viciously back.”