EFCC probes Zamfara gov, Matawalle, over N70bn ‘fraud’
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it is investigating Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle over “monumental corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70bn”.
Director of Public Affairs, EFCC, Osita Nwajah, disclosed this on behalf of the commission’s chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, at a press conference in Abuja yesterday.
He said the money, sourced as loan from an old generation bank and purportedly meant for projects across the local government areas of the state, was diverted by the governor through proxies and contractors who received payment for contracts not executed.
Nwajah said investigations had so far revealed that over 100 companies received payments from the funds with no evidence of service rendered to the state.
He said some of the contractors 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 same to dollars.
The governor had, on Wednesday, called on the EFCC not to limit its investigations to governors but to extend same to members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet; the call which the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had described as Matawalle’s opinion.
Nwajah said a former Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, recently arrested by over alleged N22bn fraud, was still in detention.
He asked Nigerians not to be swayed with Matawalle’s “claims ought not to be dignified with a response. What is at play here is a pure case of corruption fighting back. Matawalle’s outburst is product of paranoia, an uncomfortable exertion arising from the heat of EFCC’s lawful activities.
“However, for the sake of some gullible citizens who might be swayed by the governor’s sudden burst of crusading zest, a measured response has become imperative to expose Matawalle’ outburst for what it is, a hollow gambit to deflect attention from the real issue,” he said.
He said the issue had nothing to do with the transparency of EFCC’s asset recovery and disposal process.
He said contrary to Matawalle’s claims, the commission supervised an asset disposal exercise widely acclaimed as the most transparent in the country’s history.
“The qualification to get a space in the Commission’s detention facility, is to commit a crime. It does not matter whether you’re a priest, imam, governor or minister.”