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- Anti-graft company seeks info on 14 accounts in Entry, Polaris banks
- Assist teams could also be probed for suspected cash laundering
- Monitoring of marketing campaign funds not a witch-hunt, says REC
The Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee has launched a discreet investigation into the funds of the 18 political events within the nation and their presidential aspirants. This adopted the humongous charges paid for expression of curiosity and nomination types by aspirants vying for numerous elective places of work within the events.
The anti-graft company has, due to this fact, requested the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee to furnish it with the financial institution accounts and different monetary particulars of the political events.
It additionally requested the managing administrators of Entry Financial institution and Polaris Financial institution to supply the main points of the 14 accounts operated by the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Get together and one other organisation believed to be linked to the opposition occasion.
Whereas the ruling APC offered its presidential types for N100m, the principle opposition occasion pegged its types at N40m.As well as, the APC governorship aspirants paid N50m, whereas individuals who declared for the Senate, Home of Representatives and state Homes of Meeting paid N20m, N10m and N2m, respectively for his or her nomination and expression of curiosity types.
Alternatively, the PDP offered its governorship types for N21m; Senate, N3.5m; Home of Representatives, N2.5m; and state Homes of Meeting, N600,000.
Whereas the opposite events charged lesser quantities for his or her types, the exorbitant nomination charges charged by the 2 dominant events angered many Nigerians with Transparency Worldwide describing the event as a type of cash laundering.
The EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, final week hinted on a Channels Tv’s programme, Politics At this time, that the fee would monitor marketing campaign funds, together with the legitimacy of the funds used to buy nomination types forward of the 2023 normal elections.
Bawa mentioned the fee can be working with INEC and different election-related organisations to trace the sources of the cash spent on the acquisition of nomination types.
He famous, “In the case of the problem of monitoring election funds in addition to candidates’ funds that has to do with the work of INEC on this regard. However, after all, we’re working hand in glove with INEC and different associated businesses in that discipline to make sure that we observe the cash.
“We need to know the supply, whether or not it’s official or illegitimate, as a result of that’s what issues us.”
Findings by Saturday PUNCH, nevertheless, indicated that the company had begun a forensic investigation and monitoring of the funds of the political organisations and curiosity teams.
The EFCC, in a letter to the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, dated Could 9, 2022, signed by its Director of Operations, Michael Wetkas, on behalf of the chairman, demanded a listing of all political events, their designated financial institution accounts and another info that would help its investigation.
The letter, with reference quantity CB.3383/EFCC/HOPS/HQ/VOL.1/28, titled, ‘Investigation actions’, learn, “The fee is conducting an inquiry during which the necessity to receive sure info out of your fee is crucial. In view of the foregoing, you’re requested to kindly avail the next info: record of all registered political events; record of designated accounts submitted by the political events to your fee; another info that will help the fee in its investigation.
“This request is made pursuant to sections 38(1) and (2) of the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (Institution) Act, 2004. Whereas thanking you immensely to your steady cooperation and collaboration, please settle for the assurances of the chairman’s esteemed regards.”
The EFCC in one other letter, additionally signed by the Head of Operations, knowledgeable the managing administrators of Entry Financial institution and Polaris Financial institution in Abuja that it was investigating 14 accounts of the 2 dominant events.
In keeping with the letters, the investigation entails accounts 0692988080, 0035644896 and 0044183689 in Entry Financial institution belonging to the APC; an account with quantity 0054586830 owned by the Nationwide Secretariat of the PDP, and three different accounts by Umbrella Belief Restricted – 0076600091, 0066988655 and 0068595990.
In Polaris Financial institution, one of many accounts belongs to the APC (1771444115), whereas two are operated by the PDP – 1140060876 and 1770319690 – and 4 by the ‘PDP Fund Elevating Dinner’ – 1771643176, 177647521, 177164514 and 1771647507.
Wetkas wrote, “The fee is investigating a case during which the above-mentioned account names and numbers featured.
“In view of the above, you’re kindly requested to ahead the licensed true copies of the next: Account opening packages/mandate playing cards; assertion of account from January 2021 thus far (exhausting and smooth copies). The smooth copy ought to be copied to excel format and forwarded to [email protected]”
The letter additionally requested the certificates of identification pursuant to Part 84(4) of the Proof Act, 2011. (The certifying officer ought to embrace his full title, designation, signature and date on every web page). The fee additionally requested the banks to furnish it with another related info that would help the investigation.
Assist teams could also be probed for cash laundering
Saturday PUNCH additionally gathered that the probe may also prolong to the varied assist teams, which purchased nomination types for aspirants.
Our correspondent learnt that the EFCC was engaged on indicators that the curiosity teams have been getting used to hold out cash laundering actions.
For example, a gaggle often known as the Affiliation of Fulani-Almajiri, which is a northern group comprising nomadic pastoralists and Almajiri communities, on Monday obtained the N100m APC presidential types for former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The group mentioned it paid the exorbitant worth of the types with funds raised from the sale of cows to make sure that Jonathan, whom it described as one of the best President for Nigeria, returns to Aso Rock in 2023.
Equally, three curiosity teams, the Rice Farmers Affiliation of Nigeria, Emefiele Assist Group and Pals of Godwin, bought the presidential nomination types for the Governor of the Central Financial institution of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele.
Additionally, a coalition of 28 teams, together with the Youth Come up Motion, Nigerians in Diaspora, One Nigeria Group, Prudent Youth Affiliation of Nigeria, in addition to girls teams and farmers reportedly procured the APC presidential types for the President of the African Growth Financial institution, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, final Saturday in Abuja.
Equally, the Tinubu Assist Organisation procured the N100m types for a nationwide chief of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The management of the South-West Agenda for Asiwaju led the teams that picked the types for Tinubu, who was on the time in Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj.
The Director-Normal, TSO, Aminu Suleiman, mentioned the teams paid for the types as a result of they have been certain that Tinubu would win. “I, Hon. Aminu Suleiman wish to formally state that I’ve signed a cheque to the tune of 100 million naira for the acquisition of nomination and expression of curiosity types for our chief @officialABAT. God bless,” he tweeted.
No fewer than 28 aspirants purchased the APC presidential types, which closed on Friday.
The pattern of teams buying types for aspirants didn’t begin this 12 months. In 2018, the Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Community bought the N45m presidential type of the APC for the President, Main Normal Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), when he was gunning for a second time period.
Within the PDP, no fewer than 17 aspirants bought the occasion’s N40m types, two of whom have been screened out.
They’re governors Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State; Nyesom Wike of Rivers State; Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State; and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State; funding banker and economist, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen; and a former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi.
Others are a former Senate President, Pius Anyim; ex-President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Sam Ohuabunwa; a United States-based medical physician, Nwachukwu Anakwenze; the Writer of Ovation Journal, Dele Momodu; former Speaker of the Abia State Home of Meeting, Cosmos Ndukwe; Charles Ugwu and Chikwendu Kalu.
Additionally within the race are former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar; a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; a former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, and the one feminine presidential aspirant within the occasion, Teriela Oliver.
When requested to reply to the continuing probe, the spokesman for the APC, Felix Morka, mentioned he was in a gathering and promised to talk later. He had but to reply to a textual content message despatched to him on the problem as of the time of submitting this report.
The PDP Nationwide Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, declined remark, saying he was not conscious of the EFCC investigation. “I’m not conscious of it and I don’t need to touch upon it,” he mentioned on the phone on Friday.
Monitoring of marketing campaign funds not a witch-hunt, says REC
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Prof Abdulganiyu Raji, has mentioned monitoring the marketing campaign funds of political events by the fee just isn’t a witch-hunt towards any particular person or group.
Talking in Osogbo on Friday throughout a sensitisation workshop for political events on marketing campaign finance monitoring forward of the governorship election on July 16, Raji acknowledged, “One of many mandates of INEC, aside from the conduct of elections, is to trace the funds of political events with a view to realizing how good they’re faring so far as their funds are involved, along with having the ability to help them in planning their actions.
“Monitoring the funds of political events just isn’t a witch-hunt. It’s for higher understanding of the monetary actions of the events. What we do is to trace the marketing campaign funds (influx and outflow) and report back to the suitable quarters in INEC.”
The REC mentioned the fee had earlier organised the same coaching for a few of its senior workers members within the state, including, “At this time, we’re not monitoring the funds of those political events; we are literally taking them by means of the processes and procedures, and all the mandatory methods that they might want to observe their very own funds.
“Whereas they’re doing it on their very own, we may even be doing our personal independently. We at INEC submit our reviews to the suitable quarters, however for political events, along with submitting their reviews to us, they may even have the ability to use them for planning their actions. I consider that in the event that they concentrate on the workshop, it will likely be of profit to them.”
Raji added that the workshop was normally organised for political events and candidates earlier than each election.
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