Alleged N5bn Fraud: Ex-Dep Speaker, House Leader, Saheed Popoola other 8th Assembly lawmakers speak on EFCC accusation

Commission accused of politicisation

By Mumini AbdulKareem

From the members of the 8th Kwara legislature came sharp reactions,
last night, to the allegation of N5billion fraud against them and some
officials of the last administration in the state by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Top lawmakers of the immediate past legislature who spoke on the issue
include the former Deputy Speaker, Hon Mathew Okedare and former House
Leader, Hon Hassan Oyeleke, among other prominent members.
The EFCC in its report Friday which has since gone viral on social
media and online platforms in the state accused the former lawmakers
under the Speaker, Dr Ali Ahmad and other government officials of
allegedly conniving with the Kwara State Internal Revenue Services
(KWIRS) former leadership to cough out monthly payments of N4m “as a
trade-off to secure easy approval of their appropriations and
requests” since 2015.
Additionally, the EFCC listed other beneficiaries from the total sum
to include former commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu accused of
allegedly receiving N5m monthly, ex-Kwara State Accountant-General,
Ishola Sulyman, Permanent Secretaries and others.
The anti-graft agency, quoted former chairman of the House Committee
on Appropriation and Finance during the 8th Assembly, Hon Moshood
Bakare that KWIRS officials send N4m into the account of his personal
assistant from where the money was consistently disbursed.
According to the report, Rafiu Olasile, the personal assistant to the
immediate past governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, once received N10m from an
aide to Hon Bakare. It was gathered that both Hon Bakare and his PA
are still being held by the EFCC, last night.
But speaking on the issue in a telephone chat, Okedare denied
knowledge of such slush fund whether in kind or cash while his tenure
lasted.
According to him, “I was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly
and one of the principal officers, but I can tell you I don’t know
anything about such fund and I have never collected any kobo from
anybody. I also did not receive any money through my account either
directly or indirectly and if it is true that Hon Bakare told the EFCC
such, then those involved should be named but as for me, I am not
aware of such arrangement if there was any.
“Ordinarily, if there is any payment like that allegedly to the
lawmakers, it would have been paid through the House of Assembly which
will be documented and not being collected by individual. This is just
a way of tarnishing my image and that of the honourable members of the
8th Assembly. Hon Bakere and his PA are in detention now as we speak.
Personally, I don’ know anything about such money and I never
collected any money from anybody, be it KWIRS or anybody, outside my
salary and allowances as member of the House. Ordinarily if they are
paying the House anything, it should not be to any private person, so
we await the EFCC’s proper investigation in this matter, he added.
Also speaking on the development, Hon Saheed Popoola who was the only
opposition member in the 8th legislature also denied knowledge of any
such fund.
“I don’t think such thing happened, but if at all there were any such
arrangement, there is no way I could have known about it. I was not
part of the leadership or principal officer and secondly, I was an
opposition person.
But asked to clarify whether he has benefited from any such fund
before his defection in the last dispensation, the lawmaker reiterated
that, “Like I said, I don’t think it is happening, but If it is true,
I Saheed Popoola don’t know anything about it,” he noted.
For the former House Leader, Hon Hassan Oyeleke, the assertion is not
only derogatory but untrue and an attempt to inflict injury on
innocent souls.
“Putting the record straight… I wish to categorically deny any
knowledge of such arrangement. If it is true that such arrangement
existed at all, I Hon Hassan Oyeleke vehemently deny awareness or
collection of any Kobo from such deal and challenged EFCC and the
purported claimant on the issue.  I loudly say that the assertion is
untrue, derogatory, defamatory and infliction of injury on innocent
souls. I did not collect any Kobo from KWIRS,” he submitted.
Also the lawmaker who represented Ilorin North West in the 8th
Assembly, Hon Abdulrafiu Abdulrahman in a social media post on the
issue described the allegation as malicious even as he advised the
EFCC to carry out due diligence on the issue.
“While I believe and maintain that the allegation is malicious on all
the 24 members of the 8th Assembly, I, Hon. Abdulrafiu Abdulrahman
wish to categorically dissociate myself from the alleged sharing of
the money in question (If any).
“At no time did I benefit from the sharing of slush funds during my
tenure as a member of the Kwara State House of Assembly. Much as I
believe that it is the statutory responsibility of the EFCC to beam
its searchlight on any allegation of financial impropriety of any
institutions in Nigeria, I hope the agency will employ due diligence
and thoroughly investigate properly before using same brush to paint
everyone on the allegation.
“I wish to inform the general public particularly the good people of
my constituency that despite being out of office, I am willing to shed
light on any issue relating to my tenure of office which is within my
purview during the 8th Assembly in the state…”.
The former chairman of the House Committee on Health and Environment,
Hon Ahmed Muhammed (Kaiama/Kemanji/Wajibe) who made his phone number
(08034713937) available for EFCC’s inquiry said, “At no time did I
benefited from the sharing of slush funds during my tenure as a member
of the Kwara State House of Assembly and neither did such occur
through the Committee that I chaired.
While imploring the EFCC to do due diligence, Hon Muhammed noted that,
“I am willing to shed light on any issue relating to my tenure in
office within my purview of the 8th Assembly in the state.
Meanwhile the EFCC has been accused of politicisation in handling of
its activities in the state. According to a resident, Alhaji Abubakar
Zonkuwa, who wrote from Akerebiata in Ilorin, the figures being dished
out by the EFCC is outrageous going by the report of the commission.
He queried how the commission came about the sum of N5bllion when all
the figures released was less than one billion naira even when
calculated for eight years against the four years the EFCC based its
investigation on.
Some of the reactions to the issue while not condoning any act of
graft have accused the EFCC of putting out wrong figures to attract
unnecessary brickbat against perceived selected opposition members in
the last administration in the state adding that such action is even a
worse form of corruption than the investigation itself.
According to Zonkuwa in his post on the issue, both alleged monthly
N4m by the lawmakers, N5m allegedly being received by Banu and the N10
m reportedly given to Rafiu for eight years did not amount to one
billion naira yet the EFCC said the alleged slush fund (if any) was
N5b.
While N4m amount to N192m for four years, N5m for same period was put
at N240m, making N442m when the N10m allegedly given to Rafiu Olashile
Aliyu is added.