EFCC After Me Over Magu's Rejection - Senator Accused of Operating 20 Bank Accounts in 6 Banks with Different Signatories Speaks
A federal lawmaker accused of running 20 accounts in six banks with different signatories has traced his alleged victimisation by the anti-corruption agency to his opposition to the confirmation of Magu.
A member of the Senate representing Delta-North Senatorial District, Peter Nwaoboshi, on Friday, alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is after him over his loyalty to President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki.
He alleged that the EFCC was also after him and other senators due to their opposition to the confirmation of the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, by the Senate.
The lawmaker denied the allegation that his Bank Verification Number had been linked with 20 different company and personal bank accounts, urging the EFCC to contact the firms.
It was reported on Friday that based on a petition from an undisclosed author in Delta State, the EFCC was investigating Nwaoboshi’s alleged complicity in the non-execution of N4bn contracts awarded by the government of Delta State.
The EFCC was reported to also be investigating how the lawmaker operates 20 accounts in six banks with different signatories.
He was alleged to have used a company to buy a 12-storey building in Apapa, Lagos, which belonged to the Delta State Government, for N805m.
Nwaobosho was also accused of not declaring all the companies and bank accounts belonging to him to the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, Nwaoboshi denied the allegations.
He said, “They said I have 20 bank accounts and that my BVN number is linked to the 20 accounts but my brother is the signatory to those accounts. If you have a BVN, can it be different from the signature to an account?
“Again, if it is true, what disqualifies my brother from owning 50 bank accounts for his businesses if he decides to own different accounts for his companies? What disqualifies his company from owning an account in different banks? Is there any law that says a company should have only one bank account?
“These are just meant to malign, discredit and stop me from talking. I learnt they are planning to arrest and detain me. I am the wrong person because it will not stop me from talking and doing the work my people sent me here to do. Great men have gone into detention – those bigger than me.”
He further said it was the duty of the CCB to verify the information provided in his assets declaration form. He stated that it was not a case to be handled by the EFCC.
The Senate had rejected Magu’s nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari based on a damning report by the Department of State Services.
Nwaoboshi said, “If the power of confirmation resides here and that power of confirmation and rejection has been exercised, the appointing authority should do what is needful. That was what I said and that was what I was supposed to say. If the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, of which I am a member, takes a decision on a matter, it is binding on the members.
“I am a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Senate is an institution I must protect. I was not born a senator. I am a teacher, lawyer, businessman before becoming a senator. I have come and I will go but the institution of the Senate must be defended.”
When asked if he felt his investigation by the EFCC was due to his loyalty to Saraki, he replied, “Yes, we are paying for the alleged sins of our principal.”
The lawmaker stated that he was not in the Delta State Government during the period under which EFCC acts under investigation were committed.
He said, “EFCC can go ahead to contact the companies. I have nothing to hide and we have nothing to hide in the companies. We do business and we stand by the business because we have a name. We have nothing at all as a company to hide in this matter. Although, I am no longer a director in the company.
“For me, I don’t have a problem; they will go to court and we will go to court. All they want is what I’m telling you; they cannot stop me from saying what I believe in. What I believe in, I will say it.”
He alleged that the EFCC was also after him and other senators due to their opposition to the confirmation of the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, by the Senate.
The lawmaker denied the allegation that his Bank Verification Number had been linked with 20 different company and personal bank accounts, urging the EFCC to contact the firms.
It was reported on Friday that based on a petition from an undisclosed author in Delta State, the EFCC was investigating Nwaoboshi’s alleged complicity in the non-execution of N4bn contracts awarded by the government of Delta State.
The EFCC was reported to also be investigating how the lawmaker operates 20 accounts in six banks with different signatories.
He was alleged to have used a company to buy a 12-storey building in Apapa, Lagos, which belonged to the Delta State Government, for N805m.
Nwaobosho was also accused of not declaring all the companies and bank accounts belonging to him to the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, Nwaoboshi denied the allegations.
He said, “They said I have 20 bank accounts and that my BVN number is linked to the 20 accounts but my brother is the signatory to those accounts. If you have a BVN, can it be different from the signature to an account?
“Again, if it is true, what disqualifies my brother from owning 50 bank accounts for his businesses if he decides to own different accounts for his companies? What disqualifies his company from owning an account in different banks? Is there any law that says a company should have only one bank account?
“These are just meant to malign, discredit and stop me from talking. I learnt they are planning to arrest and detain me. I am the wrong person because it will not stop me from talking and doing the work my people sent me here to do. Great men have gone into detention – those bigger than me.”
He further said it was the duty of the CCB to verify the information provided in his assets declaration form. He stated that it was not a case to be handled by the EFCC.
The Senate had rejected Magu’s nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari based on a damning report by the Department of State Services.
Nwaoboshi said, “If the power of confirmation resides here and that power of confirmation and rejection has been exercised, the appointing authority should do what is needful. That was what I said and that was what I was supposed to say. If the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, of which I am a member, takes a decision on a matter, it is binding on the members.
“I am a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Senate is an institution I must protect. I was not born a senator. I am a teacher, lawyer, businessman before becoming a senator. I have come and I will go but the institution of the Senate must be defended.”
When asked if he felt his investigation by the EFCC was due to his loyalty to Saraki, he replied, “Yes, we are paying for the alleged sins of our principal.”
The lawmaker stated that he was not in the Delta State Government during the period under which EFCC acts under investigation were committed.
He said, “EFCC can go ahead to contact the companies. I have nothing to hide and we have nothing to hide in the companies. We do business and we stand by the business because we have a name. We have nothing at all as a company to hide in this matter. Although, I am no longer a director in the company.
“For me, I don’t have a problem; they will go to court and we will go to court. All they want is what I’m telling you; they cannot stop me from saying what I believe in. What I believe in, I will say it.”
Source: Punch
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