Senate President Bukola Saraki late Tuesday denied any personal involvement in the alleged probe of embattled chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde.
The Senate had been divided over the invitation of Lamorde following allegations of fraud relating to a whooping N1 trillion.
The allegations, in the form of a petition, was published by one Mr. George Uboh, who had alleged that the EFCC boss diverted multi-billion naira funds, including the loot recovered from a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha; and former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun.
Apart from this, he alleged that the EFCC operates accounts in banks to warehouse recovered funds, which do not reflect in EFCC’s audited accounts, he also stated that EFCC doctors and manipulates bank accounts to conceal diversion of funds.
The EFCC, he said, releases recovered funds to unidentified persons and EFCC officials and moves funds from its recovery accounts to EFCC operations accounts from where it diverts same;
The Senate President said in a statement: “Over 95 percent of EFCC’s recoveries in foreign currencies, other than those from multinational companies, have been diverted; EFCC trades with recovered funds through bank deposits and placements;
“EFCC colludes with real estate companies in order to grossly undervalue seized assets before there are sold to their cronies; EFCC has not accounted for offshore recoveries; and, over half of the assets seized from suspects are not reflected in EFCC exhibit records,” the petitioner said.
But the senators on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dissociated themselves from the invitation and rather urged their colleagues to stop such attempt to probe Lamorde as it smacks of politics.
There have also been insinuations that Saraki may have seen this as payback for the alleged humiliation recently suffered by his wife in the hands of the anti-graft agency.
“The attention of the media office of the President of the Senate, Sen. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has been drawn to a publication alleging that the Senate President hired one Uboh to smear the integrity of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC.
“It is pertinent and with all sense of responsibility and commitment to state unequivocally that the story is far from the truth. A fabricated story that can not sell to dent the image of Senator Saraki.
“The general public is fully aware that the said online platform which published the false story has been an agent of media attack on the person of the Senate President and that all allegations made by the online platform against the have fallen flat on their face as bare lies, concocted with malicious intention.
“To set the record straight, no body can rightfully claim that Senator Saraki engaged the services of the petitioner or any other person for that matter. There are about four different petitions from individuals, groups and corporate organisations written against the EFCC and submitted to the Senate.
“Most of these petitions are dated 27/07/2015 and 31/07/2015 while some bothers on issues between 2013, 2014 and 2015. There are petitions that are directly written and received by the Senate while in some, the petition was written to the President and the Senate were copied.
“Further to the above, EFCC is not the only government agency that has petition against it pending before the before the Senate. There are pending petitions against the CG Custom, FIRS and NPA, amongst others. Is it also Senator Saraki that hired or engaged people to do this? What evidence does Sahara reporter have that links Senator Saraki to all these petitions before the Senate ?
“The Senate President has no relationship whatsoever with Mr Uboh in any capacity or in the course of his emergence as Senate President. If anybody has any proof of a relationship between Senator Saraki and the said Mr. Uboh, let him or her say it now.
“Our Investigation showed that Uboh’s petition has been in public domain since 2013 and that the details has been reported in national newspapers as well as cited in court proceedings. The Senate President could not have said to have hired any one to write a petition for him as he has no issue to sort out with any individual, group of people or an organisation.
“Therefore, any insinuation that Senator Saraki is attempting to prevent EFCC from carrying out its constitutional responsibility is a hoax and an imagination of the writer.
“Let it be known that the idea of people using the media to intimidate or blackmail the Senate to prevent it from performing its constitutional and legislative duties will be resisted and as such, meet stiff opposition expressed through lawful means. Senator Saraki is not the same as the Senate or National Assembly as an institution. Imputing sentiment into the legitimate working of any government institution will not urgur well for our development and democratic process.”
