The EFCC had, last week,
arrested the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Cross River State, Mr
Ntufam Okon, for allegedly receiving N500m from the Diezani fund.
The immediate past Governor
of Cross River State, Mr Liyel Imoke, was arraigned by the Economic and
Financial Crimes in its Port Harcourt office on Wednesday for several hours for
his alleged role in the $115m (N23bn) bribe allegedly disbursed by a former Minister
of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The money in question was said
to have been used in allegedly bribing officials of the Independent National
Electoral Commission ahead of the 2015 presidential election.
The commission wrote on its
official Facebook page on Wednesday, “Chief Liyel Imoke was on Wednesday
quizzed by operatives of the EFCC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for his
alleged involvement in the N500m collected by the Cross River State’s Chairman
of the PDP, Mr. Ntufam Okon, from the sleazy $115m, (which) a former Minister
of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, lodged with Fidelity Bank in
controversial circumstances during the 2015 campaign period.
“Imoke arrived at the Port
Harcourt’s office of the EFCC by 10.15am on Wednesday and is answering
questions being posed to him by investigators.”
The EFCC also arrested a
former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Imasuen, and former Secretary
to the State Government of Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, for allegedly
collecting N700m from the Diezani fund.
The commission alleged that
the N700m was collected from the Mission Road branch of Fidelity Bank Plc, in
Benin City in March 2015, and was conveyed in a bullion van.
The statement added,
“Iyamu, a PDP Presidential Campaign Coordinator in the 2015 presidential
election, admitted collecting the money from the bank.
“He told EFCC’s
interrogators that he went to the bank on that fateful day with Imasuen and a
former House of Representatives member representing Edo Central, Tony Azeigbemi
(who has yet to be arrested by the EFCC), and the money was handed over to them
by an official of the bank.
“Both Imasuen and Iyamu
signed for the collection of the money.
“Investigations by the EFCC
showed that the two politicians conveyed the money from the bank in a bullion
van to the residence of a top politician in Edo State.
“The commission is on the
trail of the politician for the recovery of the money.
“Both Imasuen and Iyamu are
in the custody of the EFCC and would be charged to court soon.”
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