Budget padding: We are investigating Dogara, others – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has disclosed that it is already investigating the budget padding allegations levelled against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and three other principal officers of the House.

This was stated by the Deputy Director of Operation of the EFCC Mr. Iliyasu Kwarbai, in Lagos, when he received protesting Civil Society Organisations, CSOs at the commission’s Lagos Zonal office.

About 32 CSOs had protested to the EFCC office, demanding the investigation and prosecution of all those implicated in the budget padding allegations.

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Kwarbai, who received a petition from the CSOs on behalf of the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, said the commission had received different petitions in respect of the matter from members of the public, and that the commission was already investigating it in Abuja.

He said: “The issue of padding in the National Assembly in which some allegations have been raised against the Speaker and some other persons, we are already in receipt of petitions from some other members of the public and investigation is going on in Abuja”.

“EFCC does not cover any one, whoever is involved will be dealt with strictly according to law. Anybody who is involved in corruption, no matter how highly he or she is, we don’t cover any person, once we have received a petition, investigates it and once the person is indicted, we invite the accused and on the case of the budget padding, they will never go free.

“We are very happy that you are here and we are in solidarity with you. We are very happy that you are joining us in the fight against corruption. The fight is not for EFCC alone, it is for everybody.”

By Timothy Enietan-Matthews

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