The Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) not to limit its corruption probe to governors alone, but to extend it to officials of the Presidency and the members of the Federal Executive Council.
The governor made the demand in a statement on Wednesday, in reaction to a report that quoted the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, as saying the anti-graft agency had sent invitations to all outgoing governors and commissioners for corruption probe.
Matawalle said while he had no problem with plan to probe outgoing governors, officials of the Presidency should also not be spared.
Matawalle said, “The investigation must be holistic and not selective. It is in this respect that the recent invitations and pronouncement by the EFCC chair is imbalance, incomplete, hypocritical and unnecessarily skewed.
“This is counter-productive to the anti-corruption crusade itself, that is if Mallam Bawa is actually committed to one.
“I demand that the EFCC chair extends similar invitations to officers of the Presidency and members of the Federal Executive Council, which is the highest tier of government in the country.
“In furtherance of my desire to engender a broad-based investigation and an enlargement of the fight against corruption, I will also demand that Abdulrasheed Bawa excuse himself and surrender himself for investigation, as I and some eminent Nigerians have evidence of corrupt practices, breach of public trust and abuse of office against him and the commission led by him.
“Importantly, he needs to come clean with Nigerians on the way and manner he has prosecuted the anti-corruption fight. He needs to explain among others how seized assets by the EFCC are being sold without adherence to due process.
“He should explain, for instance, how he has assumed the role of the plaintiff, prosecutor and jury and how he has executed his brand of plea bargaining with suspected criminals and saboteurs of the Nigerian economy and agenda who instead of being put on trial, are walking freely all over Nigeria.”
However, the EFCC has revealed that the Governor Matawalle, is being investigated over allegations of corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70 billion.
The ant-graft commission said it was making the development known following the recent attempt by the outgoing governor to cast aspersion on the integrity of the agency’s fight against corruption by making what the agency described as ‘farcical allegations’ of corruption in assets disposal and plea bargain procedure, among others.
The Director, Media and Public Affairs, EFCC, Osita Nwajah, who spoke on behalf of the Chairman of the agency, Abdulrasheed Bawa, made this disclosure yesterday while addressing journalists at the Commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.
The anti-graft agency also confirmed that a former Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, who was recently arrested by its operatives over alleged N22bn fraud, is still in detention.
Going philosophical, Nwajah said, “It is intriguing that Matawalle would want to take on the role of a supervisor, who tells the EFCC whom to investigate. Is this a case of a ‘thief’ saying he must not be touched until other ‘thieves’ are caught?
“Unfortunately, it is not within Matawalle’s remit to dictate to the EFCC whom to arrest, when, and where. Suspects in the custody of the Commission cut across all sectors and social class.
“The qualification to get a space in the Commission’s detention facility is to commit a crime. It does not matter whether you are a priest, Imam, governor or minister.
“Currently, a former minister of power is in the custody of the EFCC over a N22 billion corruption allegation. That conveniently did not attract Matawalle’s attention,” the EFCC remarked.
The anti-graft agency noted further that the outgoing governor of Zamfara State is being investigated for allegedly diverting money sourced as a loan from an old generation bank purportedly for the execution of projects across the local government areas of the state.
Nwajah added, “But the real issue with Matawalle is that he is being investigated by the EFCC, over allegations of monumental corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70 billion.
“The money which was sourced as a loan from an old generation bank purportedly for the execution of projects across the local government areas of the state, was allegedly diverted by the governor through proxies and contractors who received payment for contracts that were not executed.
“The Commission’s investigations so far reveal that more than 100 companies have received payments from the funds, with no evidence of service rendered to the state. Some of the contractors who had been invited and quizzed by the Commission made startling revelations on how they were allegedly compelled by the governor to return the funds received from the state coffers back to him through his aides after converting the same to United States Dollars.
“They confirmed that they did not render any service to Zamafara State but were allegedly directed to convert the monies paid to them into United States Dollars and return to the state governor through some of his commissioners, notably the commissioners in charge of Finance and Local Government Affairs,” Nwajah disclosed.