A critic of the Anambra State Government, Kingsley Ubani, says he plans to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over alleged financial irregularities in projects executed by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
Ubani says the newly inaugurated EFCC Zonal Directorate in Awka will make it easier to submit petitions against the Soludo administration.
The EFCC Awka Directorate, inaugurated on Friday, has operational jurisdiction over Anambra and Imo States.
According to Ubani, his petition will centre on the N12 billion Ekwulobia flyover project, a proposed second state airport, contracts allegedly awarded to inexperienced firms, and road projects he describes as substandard.
He alleges that the governor previously said Anambra does not need a second airport before embarking on the new project.
He also raises concerns over the Anambra State Investment and Development Agency, alleging that the agency can raise and manage up to N200 billion without adequate oversight from the State House of Assembly, and that government has failed to constitute a governing board for it.
Ubani further calls for investigation into an alleged N100 million transfer from the state treasury to a private bank account belonging to the son of a former Inspector-General of Police, which he claims was done in four tranches of N25 million.
Reacting to the inauguration, Ubani questions the governor’s presence at the event, saying the anti-graft agency should be investigating him.
When reminded of the immunity enjoyed by sitting governors under Section 308 of the Constitution, he responds that it will not be for long, adding that the new office will make it easier to investigate and prosecute Soludo after his tenure.
Governor Soludo, speaking at the inauguration, welcomes the EFCC to Anambra and pledges full cooperation with the commission.
He says the presence of the anti-graft office in Awka does not mean Anambra people are prone to crime, but reflects efforts to decentralize the fight against financial crimes. He adds that ideally, the EFCC should be present in all 774 local government areas.
He notes that economic and financial crimes undermine development and assures partnership with the commission in revenue administration, tax compliance and public sector training.
Soludo also recounts his personal experience with the EFCC after his tenure as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, saying he honoured an invitation to clarify issues relating to an agency where he served as board chairman and was subsequently cleared after investigation.
On his part, EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, says the Awka Zonal Directorate is established to safeguard local economies and help state institutions identify fiscal vulnerabilities, not for political victimization, and to bring the agency closer to grassroots economic activities.
Source/Razor
