Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has charged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to begin their investigation of his alleged N22 billion fraud by questioning President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that the content of an EFCC Report in which Ortom was accused of mismanaging N22 billion security votes went viral on Wednesday.
The anti-graft body stated that it had begun investigation into Ortom, some members of the Benue State House of Assembly and permanent secretaries.
But speaking to reporters on Wednesday in the state capital Makurdi, Ortom expressed shock that the EFCC were investigating his security vote expenditure and described the investigation as a “clear case of persecution”.
He said he had never heard of the security vote being investigated before and wondered why the anti-graft body singled him out of 36 state governors for investigation.
Ortom directed the EFCC to investigate President Buhari since he also gets security vote.
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He said, “Why am I being investigated by the EFCC? My records are there. But so far, I am the only governor in Nigeria whose security vote is being investigated by the EFCC.
“How can you single me out of 36 (governors ) for investigation ? It (security vote ) is not something that any government will begin to disclose. Why should Benue’s case be different if not persecution? If the EFCC wanted a genuine investigation of security vote spending, they should have started from the Presidency and across the 36 states.
“If their focus was on Benue State, they should have started from 1999. But this is not the case. With the enormous security challenges in the state since my assumption of office, it is surprising that anyone would expect me to do nothing but keep the security vote in the safe.”
He added, “The security vote spending being investigated spans from 2015 to 2018, a period of grave security challenges in the state. I reiterate that the investigation is a clear case of persecution. I have not misappropriated, diverted or stolen any money. I have nothing to hide. I assure that the investigators can find nothing incriminating against me.”
Ortom also accused those trying to orchestrate his impeachment by the House of Assembly have devised another means to achieve their aims.
The governor disclosed that his detractors have decided to flood the state with Fulani herdsmen and 10,000 cows in order to foment trouble and justify his impeachment.
He urged President Buhari to call the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and Director General of the Department of State Security, Lawal Daura, to order.
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