Kogi Assembly overthrows EFCC on corruption allegation against government | The Guardian Nigeria News

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Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello

Kogi State House of Assembly berated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for accusing Governor Yahaya Bello of embezzling N20 billion into a fixed deposit account.

In plenary yesterday, the House described the order reported by the anti-corruption agency for the Federal High Court in Lagos to freeze an account allegedly owned by the Kogi state government in a commercial bank, as an attempt to tarnish Bellos’ image and distract him.

The motion presented to the House by President Matthew Kolawole and read by Vice President Ahmed Mohammed condemned the EFCC for setting off a false alarm, for portraying the governor and the state in a bad light.

While passing a vote of confidence to Governor Bello, the Assembly ordered the EFCC to issue an unqualified public apology to the governor and the state for the embarrassment.

He threatened to take legal action against the EFCC for orchestrating the lie and spreading it.

The motion reads: My distinguished honorable members, it is shocking that a few days ago the social media space and Nigerian TV channels were plagued by screaming fake news of a bailout loan 20 billion naira for federally approved wages that was diverted to a fixed deposit. Account.

The EFCC triggered the false alarm that said 20 billion Naira stored in a fixed deposit account was earning interest, thereby misleading a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. It was alleged that part of the fund had been taken, without using it for what it was intended for.

These false claims have now been debunked by the state government.

He revealed that following the allegation, the House Public Accounts Committee was tasked with investigating the disbursement and use of the last tranche of the bailout, adding: The committee established in his report that there was no truth in the allegation because the bailout facility had been totally exhausted by October 2019.

Supporting the motion, Kilani Olushola Olumo (Ijumu Constituency) stressed the importance of the GYB brand to Kogites, adding that the House would not allow it to be dented.

Musa Jimoh (Yagba East Constituency) noted that the finance, budget and planning commissioner was able to write to the bank, giving them an ultimatum to respond within 24 hours, to clear the name of the governor and government of State.

He added that the bank responded quickly and denied the EFCC’s allegations.

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