NIGERIA - ON #24Bn PAY OUT, EFCC DETAINS EDO'S IMASUEN AND IZE-IYAMU, INTERROGATES CROSS RIVERS' IMOKE

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has made a major breakthrough in pinning down and obtaining first hand information from the major beneficiaries of the $115 million (N24 billion) payout by former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, through the former Managing Director of Fidelity Bank. 


Apparently relying on information provided by the former MD, who was quizzed and released by operatives of the commission last week, EFCC intensified its grilling of top Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, members who shared the loot a few hours to the last presidential election. 

In a bid to recover the N1.2 billion received by the Edo and Cross River states chapters of PDP, EFCC, yesterday, questioned the former governor of Cross River, Senator Liyel Imoke, to shed light on how the N500 million the state got was used and his role in the sharing and utilisation of the money.

Imoke, who is being questioned for the first time since the cash scandal broke out, was taken in along with the state PDP Chairman, Ntufam Okon, who reportedly collected the N500 million the state chapter received out of the N24 billion cash bonanza. Similarly, the former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Imasuen and former Secretary to the State Government, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, were quizzed for hours at the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of EFCC over N700 million they reportedly collected and shared. 

The questioning of the three key PDP officials coincides with the admission by two former ministers in the administration of former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Musa Sada from Katsina State and Asabe Asmau Ahmed from Niger State, that they actually collected N1.1 billion of the slush fund ahead of the presidential poll last year. 

While Sada told EFCC investigators that he collected N700 million and handed over the cash to the state’s finance commissioner as instructed by the state governor, Ibrahim Shema, Asabe Asmau disclosed that she kept N105 million out of the N450 million of her state’s share for herself and handed over the balance to PDP in the state. However, EFCC is insisting that they should refund the amount they collected from the bank since it was taken from public bill. EFCC is likely to charge the former ministers to court. 

An official of the commission told our source last night that the officials being questioned had made useful information available to operatives and that such information was being studied to be able to make the next move. 

“We want the money back because the money was taken from the public treasury and we have made it very clear to all those involved in the looting and sharing of the huge cash,” the source said. Meanwhile, sources close to Ize-Iyamu said he would address the press in Benin, today.

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