3 House Members on the Run
•EFCC picks Senator Ugbane
From Ali M. Ali in Abuja, 05.07.2009



N6bn Scam

Arrests by the Economic and Financial Crimes Com-mission (EFCC) over the N6 billion rural electrification contract scam continued yesterday with the detention of Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Senator Nicholas Ugbani.
Three unnamed members of the House of Represent-atives linked to the fraud are reportedly on the run with operatives of the commission on their trail to ensure their arrest and arraignment by Friday.
Already, the Managing Director of Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Sam Gekpe, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Alhaji Abdullahi Aliyo, who was the acting minister when the contract was awarded, and one of the contractors handling the project, Emeka Ohagbena, are also in the net of the anti-graft agency.
Sources at the commission told THISDAY that Ohagbena registered nine companies and got 21 contracts.
The lid of the scam was blown open when the contactors involved in the projects made a case for the closure of their account when the EFCC noticed that a huge amount of money was paid out by the Agency towards the end of last year.
The anti-graft agency quickly froze the accounts pending the verification, the sources and purpose of the payment.
THISDAY learnt that the affected contractors, however, took their petitions to various quarters, complaining that the EFCC had blocked payment for contracts duly awarded to them.
Spokesperson for the EFCC, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the arrest but declined further comment on the ground that investigation was ongoing.
The commission may be working on the theory that the REA boss and a powerful cabal who had interest in the contract and needed to collect their share of the money quickly were the ones behind the decision to pay the money in bulk.
The affected persons will remain in EFCC custody, while the fleeing members of the House of Represen-tatives are arrested so that they can be arraigned immediately.
Meanwhile, officials of the Universal basic Education Commission (UBEC) arrested by the EFCC on Tuesday in connection with the N1.7 billion contract scam also rocking the Commission are still with the EFCC and are expected to be arraigned soon.
A source confirmed that the affected officials would appear in court by tomorrow or latest on Monday.
Yesterday, THISDAY reported the arrest of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power over the N6 billion scandal.
On December 30, 2008 – a few hours to the new year – Aliyu was said to have authorised the release of the money to be shared from the account of the REA.
Some members of the National Assembly – including a member of the House of Representatives who was very prominent during the controversial power sector probe last year – are said to have benefited a “huge chunk” from the sharing bazaar.
The latest arrests, according to an insider, are intended to send warning signals to other public officers who are falling foul of the anti-corruption stand of the government.

They could be in one luxury apartment in Abuja and they call it EFCC net. Its just a question of a few days they will be released.

I thought that the easiest way to apprehend a thief is by publicly declearing the said thief wanted with names, pictures and descriptions.
Seriously, am tired of all these hide and seek play we hear everyday?