The EFCC is investigating Governor Bello Matawalle for stealing over N70 billion from Zamfara.
This was announced by EFCC chief Osita Nwajah, shortly after Matawalle accused the anti-graft authority of bias and corruption.
“The Commission would like to put the nation on notice to expect more of the kind of wild allegations made by Matawalle as those at the receiving end of EFCC’s investigations, fight viciously back.
“But the real issue with Matawalle is that he is being investigated by the EFCC, over allegations of monumental corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70 Billion,” the EFCC official said.
Matawalle also suggested that the EFCC should investigate people working with President Muhammadu Buhari, including federal cabinet ministers.
However, the EFCC has denied these allegations and stated that Matawalle is trying to distract the agency from its activities.
The commission added that several of the contractors it had invited and questioned had made shocking admissions about how they had been allegedly forced by the governor to return money they had received from the state coffers to him through his aides after having converted it to U.S. dollars.
“They confirmed that they did not render any service to Zamafara state but were allegedly directed to convert the monies paid to them into United States Dollars and return to the State governor through some of his commissioners, notably the Commissioners in charge of Finance and Local Government Affairs.
“One of the contractors, a popular Abuja property developer, collected N6 billion on a N10 billion contract without rendering any service to Zamfara state. Another contractor collected over N3 billion for a contract for the supply of medical equipment but the Commission traced a payment of N400 million from his account to a Bureau de Change operator. The contractor confessed the payment was to procure the dollar equivalent allegedly for the state governor.
“As part of the extensive investigation of contracts awarded by the Matawalle administration, especially for phantom projects in the local government areas, the Commission has recovered a sum of N300million from a company, Fezel Nigeria Limited. The funds were traced to the Zamafara Investment Company,” the EFCC official said.
