The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised teams to probe some governors accused of perpetrating acts of corruption, after leaving office on May 29.
Not fewer than 112 state governors will be leaving office at the end of this tenure, including those of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Kwara, Nasarawa, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, and Zamfara states.
Howeevr, four of the twelve 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 (APC), 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 (AA).
According to an interim report of the EFCC, the Accountant-General of Imo State, Uzoho Casmir, has been arrested for allegedly helping Okorocha to launder N1.05bn for the governorship and state House of Assembly elections.
Simlarly, 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 claimed that the money was fraudulently diverted from the bank account of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on the instruction of Yari. It was gathered that about N500m from the money was diverted to offset Yari’s personal loan obtained from the First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited.
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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.
The EFCC had earlier in March arrested six commissioners and government officials in Kwara State for allegedly diverting N1bn a week before the National Assembly and presidential elections.
According to the anti-graft agency, bank officials had been brought in for questioning and had made relevant statements.
Ogun state governor, Amosun, who has been suspended by the APC, is also said to be under probe.
The Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate had petitioned the EFCC 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 (CBN) to provide jobs for the residents through the mass production of rice.
Amosun was said to have 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.
However, the EFCC may 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.
In the case of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, shoud he 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.
Speaking on the probe plans, the spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade, said all the corruption allegations would be treated on a “case-by-case” basis.
“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,” he added.
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