Eniola Akinkuotu

Ahead of May 29, 2019, handover date to newly-elected states helmsmen, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has set up teams to probe some governors accused of perpetrating acts of corruption, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.

At least 12 states will have new governors on May 29 after the tenure of the current ones would have ended.
The states that will have new chief executives include Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Kwara, Nasarawa, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Zamfara.

Of the 12 states, however, four governors have been accused of corruption.

They include Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State; Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed; the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari; and Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.

Okorocha, who has been suspended by the All Progressives Congress, has been accused of diverting over N1bn meant for the campaign of his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, who contested on the platform of the Action Alliance.

The EFCC said in an interim report that it had arrested the Accountant-General of Imo State, Uzoho Casmir, for allegedly helping Okorocha to launder N1.05bn for the governorship and state House of Assembly elections.

In Zamfara State, the EFCC is investigating Yari for alleged diversion of funds running into billions of naira.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had, in 2017, ordered an interim forfeiture of the sums of N500m and $500,000 said to have been looted from the Paris Club refunds made by the Federal Government in favour of the 36 states of the federation.

The sums of money, said to have been recovered from two firms, First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited, and Gosh Projects Limited, were allegedly linked to Yari.

The EFCC alleged that the sums of money were fraudulently diverted from the NGF’s bank account on the instruction of Yari. According to the commission, about N500m from the money was diverted to offset Yari’s personal loan obtained from the First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited.

Ahmed of Kwara State, will also be invited by the EFCC once his tenure comes to an end.

His successor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, has also vowed to probe the governor once he loses his immunity.

Ahmed, who is the godson to Senate President Bukola Saraki, was accused of diverting state funds.

Earlier in the month, the EFCC arrested six commissioners and government officials in Kwara State for allegedly diverting N1bn a week before the National Assembly and presidential elections.

The EFCC said in a situation report that bank officials had been brought in for questioning and had made relevant statements.

Amosun, who has been suspended by the APC, has also come under probe by the commission.

The probe was sequel to a petition written by a group, Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate, over an alleged misappropriation of N4bn Anchor Borrowers’ Fund meant for Ogun farmers.

The group, in the petition dated February 20, 2019, alleged that the sum was made available to the Amosun-led government in 2017 by the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide jobs for the residents through the mass production of rice.

It alleged that Amosun staged a jamboree ceremony and set up fake rice pyramids to deceive the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, when he (Emefiele) visited the state last year.

The group further accused the governor of abandoning the project in spite of his promise to establish rice plantations in the three senatorial districts of the state.

The EFCC may, however, have to wait till 2023 before taking further action on five governors-elect – Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State; Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State; Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Udom Emmanuel, as well as Kano Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, who are all being investigated for alleged diversion of public funds.

Should Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, win re-election in April, the EFCC will also have to wait till 2023 before taking any action against him.

A panel constituted to investigate the electoral and other offences perpetrated during the December 10, 2016 Rivers parliamentary re-run said that it recovered N111m from 23 INEC officials.

The Chairman of the panel, Damian Okoro, alleged that three senior electoral officers collected N20m each out of the N360m given to them by Governor Wike, while the remaining officers received N15m each.

When contacted on the telephone, the spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade, said all the corruption allegations would be treated on a “case-by-case” basis.

Orilade said, “I don’t have the full details of the cases but investigations have been going on as regards some of these cases and as soon as their immunity is gone, we will take further action and if there is a prima facie case, we will take the matter to court.

“As for those who have won and are going to be covered by immunity, it does not mean that investigations will stop. They are not immune from investigation but from prosecution as guaranteed by the constitution. And at the proper time, if there is a prima facie case, they will be prosecuted.”

https://punchng.com/efcc-raises-team-to-quiz-amosun-okorocha-yari-as-immunity-ends/?fbclid=IwAR1tNg9M08nM8mbNsQCv2gk64XDqAtK9r9YlcNrbdXDbfib19nVBj-Z3a2Q

This is wonderful, just detach from APC and your sins shall be revisited. Anyways, anything good for the Nation!!

Stories to keep tongues wagging in the week.

SW media would try and keep off attention on Oga's proposed trip overseas to discuss Brexit

Governor Amosun will probably not go to jail but he will sweat

Mynd44:
Governor Amosun will probably not go to jail but he will sweat

None dey go jail... no be 9ja we dey so? Na just another ploy to deceive the poor, average 9ja masses.

Politics aside, these guys are due for probe..

Next on the list should be Ganduje, wike , Ortom..

Corrupt practices must be probed irrespective of party and position.

It's a normal exercise for outgoing Governors to shed weight.

So EFCC is now a political party on its own. Once you are not of them (APC) or u are not loyal, then gbam they are against you.

We fuvking have a long way to go in this country.

EFCC situation be like.....

Stupidity at work

Was looking out to see politicians like Gandollar, Orji Uzo, Amaechi, Tinubu, Osho, Akpabio and others but guessed their names are omitted by EFCCAPC

They are still in the saint party so immunity covers them their only undoing is if they leave APC and I don't see that happening soon


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olaboy33:
Politics aside, these guys are due for probe..

Next on the list should be Ganduje, wike , Ortom..

Corrupt practices must be probed irrespective of party and position.

I guess you skipped bullion van's name because his case is too big for EFCC to handle.

Where's Aregbeshola's name?
EFCC no dey see that one o.
I guess Nigerian Government's version of corruption fighting has a different meaning.

Dnt allow Amosun/Okorocha to dribble una/Excape. Abeg, whey Fayose dey biko

All back and no bite

the USEFUL idiots of SW, SE Una see una life?
you hv forgotten dat d ethno-religious dullard of Daura, Life Patron of murderous Fulani herdsmen terrorists and King of d North will come after you once ur immunity has been removed.

Lol. And what about. aregbesola. ?

hmmm. nawao

Amosun has so many cases to answer apart from the anchor rice loan, diversion of local govts allocation which has rendered them comatose, diversion of paris club loan refund, budget support loan and funds meant for payment of gratuity of retired civil servants since 2012, among others should also be probed.

You people dey here dey shout aregbesola, if you have any case against him, kindly approach efcc, some of these ipobians from the east need to take a tour to osun state and see the wonderful jobs aregbesola did, his failure to pay workers salary is due massive project he did and this seriously affected the state revenue, you think efcc will just wake up and start going after a somebody without receiving a concrete evidence, the people has no case against aregbe, I don't know why somebody from a far east will be masturbating over a matter that doesn't concern, you have the orjis , ikpezu , the drunkards, iboris etc, you leave them to be playing kalo kalo with the state fund and start taking panadol on another persons headache.

IjebuWarrior:


None dey go jail... no be 9ja we dey so? Na just another ploy to deceive the poor, average 9ja masses.

exactly my thought

MrMcJay:
It's a normal exercise for outgoing Governors to shed weight.

Nicely said

/
What a colossal waste of time and resources?

EFCC is useless and cannot bite any of them.

/

Drama

Hmmm. EFCC wants us to believe that it is really proactive and focused on its job. But why in the world did they conclude that Oshiomole still enjoys immunity? Corruption fighting - Nigerian way!

The useless EFCC will only have been if all the well crooks in the APC have landed in jail

Gracealone:
Hmmm. EFCC wants us to believe that it is really proactive and focused on its job. But why in the world did they conclude that Oshiomole still enjoys immunity? Corruption fighting - Nigerian way!

Don't mind this hypocritical APC-infested EFCC We reasonable Nigerians are not fooled.

What immunity does tinubu have that he has not been questioned on what appears to be a clear cut case of money laundering. If it were Dino or some other Pdp politician that withdraws cash via bullion van zombies would not allow person to hear word