EFCC arrests Kwara accountant-general over ‘N1.5bn vote buying’

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested six
commissioners and government officials in Kwara State for allegedly
withdrawing N1bn a week before the National Assembly and
presidential elections held on February 23.

The information is contained in an EFCC situation report which
was made available to The newsmen on Friday.

According to the report, those arrested include the Commissioner
for Finance, Nurudeen Banu; Accountant General, Sulaiman Ishola;
Commissioner for Water Resources, Yusuf Abdulkadir; Head of
Service, Susan Oluwole; Special Adviser, Commissioner for Energy,
Eleja Taiwo Banu; Chief of Staff, Abdulwahab Yusuf; officials of
the Secretary to the State Government, and those of the Government
House.

EFCC stated further that bank officials had been brought in for
questioning and had made relevant statements.

The report reads in part, “Ilorin zonal office, on Thursday,
March 7, 2019 uncovered about N1bn cash withdrawal by the Kwara
State Government, a week before the last presidential and National
Assembly elections.

“Those arrested and currently being interrogated in respect of
the suspicious withdrawal include: Commissioner for Finance,
Nurudeen Banu; Accountant General, Sulaiman Ishola; Commissioner
for Water Resources, Yusuf Abdulkadir; Head of Service, Susan
Modupe Oluwole; Special Adviser, Commissioner for Energy, Eleja
Taiwo Banu; Chief of Staff, Abdulwahab Yusuf; officials of the
Secretary to the State Government, and those of the Government
House.

“Investigations by EFCC operatives revealed that the said money
was withdrawn from the state’s account domiciled with Sterling
Bank.”

The report adds that an official of the State Government, Hafees
Yusuf, confirmed to the operatives that he got instructions from
his boss to withdraw some monies sometime in February 2019.

He said, “My Controller of Finance told me that the sum of N350m
was paid into the account of Kwara State Government, and I was
instructed by my boss to raise cheques of various sums of monies,
which I did and were duly signed by the Controller of Finance. I
withdrew the monies as I was instructed by my supervisor.

“An employee of Sterling Bank, who is currently being
interrogated by EFCC operatives, revealed that the Accountant
General, Commissioner for Finance and Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Finance, are signatories to the account where N720m
cash was withdrawn from the Kwara State Government Account
domiciled in the branch of the bank located at Post Office in
Ilorin, between February 7 and 11, 2019.”

The report adds, “Three Relationship Managers of the bank –
Rahaman Alimi, Akinleye Ademola and Olarewaju Sarafa, were said to
be the ones who packed the said money in bullion vans and
personally delivered it to the Chief of Staff to the Kwara State
Governor, Abdulwahab Yusuf.

“The bank officials further told operatives that they acted on
the instruction of their ‘boss’ which was identified as, Rasaq
Abolarin.

“Meanwhile, the officials of the Kwara State Government have
been granted administrative bail, even as investigations continue.
They are expected to be arraigned before a Federal High Court in
Ilorin next week.”

The report adds that the suspicious withdrawals were uncovered
after operators acted on a petition by a Non-Governmental
Organisation, the Kwara Coalition for Good Governance and
Accountability, asking for the probe of over N1bn loan that the
State Government secured from a bank a few days before the general
elections.

Hassan Omoiya, Secretary General of the organisation, noted that
intelligence had it that the state government obtained the loan on
February 13 from a bank, using the remittance of Kwara State VAT
allocation due in February and March 2019 as collateral.

He further urged the EFCC to “determine the appropriateness of
utilisation of credit facility of N1bn by Kwara State Government in
the twilight of the general election.”