N500m poll fraud: EFCC quizzes former Bauchi deputy speaker, two others

AS part of its probe of the funding of the 2015 election campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan, interrogators of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday quizzed a former Deputy Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Honourable Sace A Dumba and two others over the sharing of N500 million among the 20 local government areas in the state.

The former legislative boss was quizzed in the Gombe zonal office of the anti-graft commission alongside the former caretaker chairman of Dass Local Government Area of the state, Mohammed Suleiman Rabo and former chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the local government area.

A source in the Gombe office of the commission informed the Nigerian Tribune that the N500 million was dished out to PDP stakeholders across the state by the Commissioner of Finance during former governor Isa Yuguda’s tenure, Garba Dahiru.

It was gathered that the trio told their interrogators that they signed and collected the said amount from Garba with the mandate to deliver same to PDP in all the local government areas of the state.

They were also said to have told operatives of the anti-corruption commission that the money was shared based on the population of each of the local government.

Bauchi Local Government Area was said to have collected N48, 020, 000, while Toro LGA and Ningi LGA collected N32,490,000 and N28,250,000 respectively.

In another development, the acting chairman of the commission, Ibrahim Magu, on Wednesday, assured the Association of Forensic and Investigation Auditors of EFCC’s continued support.

Magu stated this in his brief remark while receiving members of the association who paid him a courtesy visit in the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

According to the anti-corruption Czar, the ongoing war against corruption in the country could only be won with the collaboration and support of all stakeholders.

Earlier, the President of the association, Victoria Enape, who was in company with other members, including Anjorin F. Abraham (Secretary); Philips O. Salawu; Uchehara Chris Chigo; Crawford C. Oti; Anugwo C. Jonathan; Uche Chinedu; Joseph Enape; Anauche M. Chima and Jonathan Rosemary, called on EFCC to sustain its assistance in training of its members on the practical aspect of forensic auditing with a view to effectively tackling corruption in Nigeria.

She noted that the country’s anti-corruption commission had the necessary wherewithal to provide her association the support it required in tracking and tackling corruption in the country.

“The commission has all it takes to provide the needed support to meet the modern day challenge in tracking and tackling all shades of corruption in the country,” she declared.

She appreciated EFCC for the support it had rendered to the association in the past, especially in the area of training of its members at the EFCC Academy.

She also used the opportunity to inform the EFCC boss of the Association’s first international conference coming up in November, urging him to be present and sponsor some EFCC staff to attend.