Connect with us

Politics

EFCC arrests Imo, Kwara officials over N2bn withdrawals for vote buying

Published

on

Auto dealer arraigned for laundering N207m

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced the arrest of the Acting Accountant General of Imo State and over 10 officials of the Kwara State government over separate withdrawals totalling about N2bn billion between Tuesday and Friday.

The Imo State Acting Accountant General, Uzoho Casmir, was arrested yesterday over withdrawal of N1.050 billion between Tuesday and Friday, while the Kwara State government officials where picked up by the EFCC over cash withdrawal of N1.020 billion.

The anti-graft agency alleged that monies were intended for vote-buying to ensure the victory of their preferred candidates.

Vanguard reports that a top EFCC official revealed that Uzoho’s arrest followed intelligence report that a top official in the state had intended to use the huge cash to ensure that his preferred candidate emerges victorious in the contentious poll.

READ ALSO: It’s Official! Ex-president Jonathan’s wife, Patience, loses $8.4m to Nigerian govt

The EFCC source said: “Intelligence further revealed that Casmir withdrew the amount in three tranches between Tuesday and Thursday this week in the following order: N200 million on Tuesday, N500 million on Wednesday and N350 million on Thursday.

“We have in the meanwhile blocked the traced accounts, while the arrested Accountant General has been providing useful information to the Commission,” the anti-graft agency said.

The anti-graft agency recalled that the said official was before his appointment, a director of finance in Imo State and was in 2016 fingered in N2 billion bailout fund scam, which was given to the state by the Federal Government for the payment of salary arrears of civil servants.

In a similar operation, the EFCC on Thursday, March 7, 2019 uncovered about N1billion cash withdrawal by the Kwara State Government, a week before the last Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Those arrested and currently being interrogated in respect of the suspicious withdrawal, include, Commissioner for Finance, Nurudeen Banu; Accountant General, Sulaiman Ishola; Commissioner for Water Resources, Yusuf Abdulkadir; Head of Service, Susan Modupe Oluwole; Special Adviser, Commissioner for Energy, Eleja Taiwo Banu; Chief of Staff, Abdulwahab Yusuf; officials of the Secretary to the State Government, and those of the Government House.

Investigations by EFCC operatives revealed that the said money was withdrawn from the state’s account domiciled with Sterling Bank.

An official of the State Government, Hafees Yusuf, confirmed to the operatives that he got instructions from his “boss” to withdraw some monies sometimes in February 2019.

He said: “My Controller of Finance told me that the sum of N350 million was paid into the account of Kwara State Government, and I was instructed by my boss to raise cheques of various sums of monies, which I did and were duly signed by the Controller of Finance; I withdrew the monies as I was instructed by my supervisor.”

It was gathered that a senior staff of Sterling Bank, who is currently being interrogated by operatives, revealed that the Accountant General, Commissioner for Finance and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, are signatories to the account where N720 million cash were withdrawn from the Kwara State Government Account domiciled in the branch of the bank near Ilorin Post Office between February 7 and 11, 2019.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now