EFCC Asks Abuja School to Refund $845,000 Gov Mutfwang Rehabilitates 47.37kms Urban Roads
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has requested a refund of $845,000 from the American International School, Abuja (AISA), allegedly paid in advance by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, for his children’s education.
The move comes amidst an investigation of Bello for suspected money laundering activities.
The Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, revealed that Bello withdrew the sum of $720,000 from Kogi’s coffers for this purpose.
The former governor reportedly signed a contract with AISA to prepay $845,000 for his eldest son, Ali Bello, until his graduation in 2034.
Olukoyede alleged that Bello moved the money from the state’s coffers to a Bureau de Change operator and used the money for his child’s school fee in advance.
“A sitting governor, because he knew he was leaving office, moved money directly from the government to Bureau de Change (and) used it to pay his child’s school fee in advance. Over $720,000 or thereabout, in anticipation that he was going to leave the Government House. In a poor state like Kogi? And you want me to close my eyes under the guise of ‘I’m being used’. Used by who? At this stage of my life? Used by who?
“I didn’t initiate the case; I inherited the case. I called for the case file and I said there are issues here," Olukoyede said.
The documents reportedly reveal four additional Bello children enrolled at AISA for the 2021/22 academic year, with a potential sixth child planned for enrolment in August 2022.
The agreement reportedly covers not just Ali Bello but also his siblings Farid Bello (Grade 8), Zahra Bello (Grade 6), Na’ima Bello (Grade 4), Nana-Fatima Bello (Grade 2), and a future student, who will be enrolled in August 2022. If the application is successful and there is space available for Ali Bello PreSchool.
EFCC has requested a full refund, citing the alleged source of the funds.
AISA, in response, confirmed receiving $845,852.84 from the Bello family in September 2021. The school, however, claims that they are entitled to deduct the cost of educational services already rendered to Bello’s children.
AISA offered to refund $760,910.84, representing the remaining balance after deducting these fees. overnor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang of Plateau State has rehabilitated 29 urban roads equal to 47.37ks within the Jos-Bukuru metropolitan area in the past 10 months.
Speaking during a ministerial press briefing, the Commissioner for Works, Adams Lekshak, explained that most of the road works have already been completed while on-going ones are near completion.
According to the Commissioner, the roads network in the JosBukuru metropolis was in dire need of rehabilitation and this caught the attention of the governor who apparently assumed power with a readiness and will to work.
Apart from the rehabilitation works, he said that routine general patching of potholes on roads within the same metropolis is being carried out, and, so far, the patch work has been completed with 22 roads involved. he Borno State Government in collaboration with the World Bank-supported Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP), has trained 200 healthcare professionals on mental health and psychosocial Support Services across the 27 local government areas of the state.