The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Thursday, disclosed that it was investigating the Zamfara state Governor, Bello Matawalle, for alleged N70 billion fraud.
Matawalle had on Wednesday accused the EFCC of bias in its investigation of political office holders, even as he urged the commission to extend its probe to the Presidency and members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Blueprint reports that the state governor, who also warned the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to stop castigating governors, was reacting to the reported invitation by the commission’s boss to all outgoing governors and commissioners in a bid to commence investigation into alleged corruption and abuse of office.
However, EFCC Director, Public Affairs, Osita Nwajah, while addressing journalists at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, said the issue had nothing to do with the transparency of commission’s asset recovery and disposal process.
Nwajah stated that, “… 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 N70 billion.
“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.”
According to Nwajah, “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 N6 billion on a N10billion contract without rendering any service to Zamfara state.
“Another contractor collected over N3 billion for a contract for the supply of medical equipment but the Commission traced a payment of N400 million 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.”
Speaking further the director public affairs said, “As part of the extensive investigation of contracts award by the Matawalle administration, especially for phantom projects in the local government areas, the Commission has recovered a sum of N300 million from a company, Fezel Nigeria Limited. The funds were traced to the Zamafara Investment Company.”
On whether the commission was limiting its investigation to state governors, Nwajah who challenged the governor to disclose any evidence of the commission’s abuse of plea bargain process, said EFCC preferred to carry out its investigations discretely.
“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 N22 billion 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,” he added.
