SUNRISE – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ) on Friday said it has uncovered about N1billion cash withdrawal by the Kwara State Government, a week before the last Presidential and National Assembly elections.
It also confirmed the arrest of six suspects by its Ilorin Zonal Office over the withdrawal.
Those arrested and currently being interrogated 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Investigations by EFCC operatives revealed that the said money was withdrawn from the state’s account domiciled with Sterling Bank.
An official of the State Government, Hafees Yusuf, confirmed to the operatives that he got instructions from his “boss” to withdraw some monies sometimes 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.”
A senior staff of Sterling Bank, who is currently being interrogated by operatives, revealed 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for Finance and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, are signatories to the account where N720m cash was withdrawn from the Kwara State Government Account domiciled in the branch of the bank located at Post Office in Ilorin between February 7 and 11, 2019.
Three Relationship Managers of the bank – Rahaman Alimi, Akinleye Ademola and Olarewaju Sarafa, were said to have parked the said money in bullion van 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 officials 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 suspicious withdrawals, were uncovered after operators acted on a petition by a Non-Governmental Organisation, the Kwara Coalition for Good Governance and Accountability (KWARA-CGGA) asking for the probe of over N1 billion loan 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 N1 billion by Kwara State Government at the twilight of general election.”
The Acting Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade confirmed the arrest of the suspects and the administrative bail given to them.
