Attempt to Recover Assets of PEF’s GM Cost ObonoObla Suspension, Alleges CACOL
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has disclosed that the suspended Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigative Panel on Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla’s resolve to probe the General Manager, Administration & Personnel Management, Petroleum Equalisation Fund, Mrs. Aisha Usman cost him suspension.
CACOL, an anti-corruption civil society organisation, admitted that Obono-Obla might have his own corruption issues yet unresolved, but his decision to ensure full recovery and return of all stolen assets belonging to the country was commendable.
It made the remarks in a statement his Executive Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran issued on Friday, detailing Obono-Obla’s efforts to recover and return illegal assets allegedly acquired by Usman, a federal civil servant.
Obono-Obla’s office, located in Asokoro, was sealed penultimate Friday by some armed police officers. The police action followed a directive from the Presidency that Obono-Obla should be relieved of his appointment immediately.
He was suspended from office as the Chairman of the SPIP while the Presidency had asked the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate corruption allegations around him.
Already, the anti-graft agency had on Friday issued an order to Obono-Obla to report for questioning tomorrow for alleged corruption practices bordering on the academic credentials he used to gain admission into the University of Jos to study law or the Nigerian Law School.
An Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives had December 2018 indicted him of certificate forgery. It asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Obono-Obla over an allegation that he forged his high school certificate.
In its statement yesterday, CACOL said that reports showed that Obono-Obla had written the PEF about Usman and filed an ex-parte application at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking interim forfeiture of N65 million worth of shares and other suspicious assets to the federal government.