NO less than 12 governors are being enquired by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission for huge deception and misappropriation of public capital in their states, investigation has revealed.
Our correspondent discovered that the discreet enquiries commenced after the anti graft bureaus obtained some appeals against the 12 governors. While the EFCC is enquiring eight governors, the ICPC is searching four.
It was accumulated that most of the appeals were obtained after the said governors had commemorated their first year in office.
A senior official of the EFCC, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to talk on the issue, notified our correspondent that the number of the appeals against each of the governors was so gigantic that the bureau could not disregard them.
The official added that though the charge did not have the forces to prosecute the governors because of the immunity they relish, it would extend with the probe.
According to the source, almost all the governors were cognizant that there were petition against them but they did not understand that enquiries had begun.
He said, “We won’t delay until they complete their tenure before we start our work. Moreover, we are not conversing about one or two petition against the governors, the appeals are in gigantic figures and we have an obligation to act. Of course, not all the accusations in the appeal will be factual but we have to find out first.
“Once they complete their tenure, we will be dispatching out requests and producing arrests. We have a smallest of two years to complete our enquiries on them. When they complete ruling, we will be ready.”
When pushed by our correspondent to reveal the persona of the governors, the source refused. The official conveyed doubts that the governors could scuttle the enquiries by conveying political force to accept on the bureau and its investigators.
He, although, recognised Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State; and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State as being on the search list.
“Both of them are cognizant of the enquiries but other ones are not. If we give you their titles, they will start strong petitioning and manoeuvrings which won’t help our investigations,” the source added.
Last year, the dismissed chairmen of the 27 local government in Imo State had notified the EFCC that Okorocha misappropriated capital from a N13.5bn bond increased by his predecessor, Ikedi Ohakim.
The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria furthermore supposed that since June 2011, the Joint Accounts Committee in Imo State had not functioned and all statutory shares due to the local government totaling over N80bn had been misappropriated by Okorocha.
Following the ALGON appeal, amidst other ones, operatives of the EFCC travelled to Imo in October and commenced searches into the procedures of the state junction account with the localized government as well as the economic notes of the state under previous Governor Ikedi Ohakim.
However, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chinedu Offor, had said, “The enquiry of the state investments is a greeting development because the EFCC is eventually producing efforts to enquire and confidently retrieve billions of Naira expended on phantom Internet-based projects.
“Okorocha was the first seated governor to have called on the EFCC to set up a unit in every governor’s agency to pre-empt and avert corruption other than commencing enquiries after the capital proceed missing. He sprints the most clear management in the country and has not anything to hide.”
Journalist further accumulated that Uduaghan was being enquired for the “suspicious accolade of Asaba International Airport agreements and other projects.”
“The appeals contrary to the Delta State administrator and some of his agents queried the way they have been bestowing agreements and dubious projects. We have gone to the state and asked for some of the officials. They have notified us what they understand but we are not persuaded so we will hold at it,” the source added.
Confirming the appeals contrary to the governors, the Head, Media and Publicity of the charge, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said, “We have appeals contrary to some of the seated governors and we are producing some investigations about the petitions. I will not notify you the governors being enquired even though the public is cognizant of some. Yes, the governors relish immunity but it won’t discourage us.”
Similarly, ICPC representative, Mr. Folu Olamiti, verified that the bureau was searching four governors.
He said, “I can’t give you their titles and I can’t notify you how far we have gone but we are enquiring four governors. The governors relish immunity but the persons they use to pilfer public capital don’t. We are interrogating their men and when we are finished, we will ascribe them to court.”
Source: nigercenter news