Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, is currently under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of diverting N70 billion from the state treasury.
The disclosure was made by Osita Nwajah, EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, during a press briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
According to Nwajah, “the investigation revolves around corruption allegations, awarding of fictitious contracts, and the diversion of over N70 billion.”
Interestingly, the disclosure comes shortly after Governor Matawalle called for the resignation of EFCC Chair, Abdulrasheed Bawa, and urged the anti-graft agency to focus on investigating officials within Nigeria’s presidency and outgoing ministers.
Governor Matawalle, who will be leaving office at the end of his tenure on May 29, will lose his constitutional immunity and could potentially face prosecution.
Providing further details on the alleged misappropriation of funds, Nwajah explained that “the loan sourced from a bank was intended for project execution across the local government areas but was instead diverted by the governor through proxies and contractors.”
According to him, “over 100 companies received payments without evidence of rendering any services to the state.”
The EFCC official also mentioned that some contractors revealed during questioning that they were allegedly compelled by the governor to convert funds received from the state coffers into United States dollars and return them to him.
Nwajah referred to a property developer who collected N6 billion for a N10 billion contract without delivering any services, as well as another contractor who received over N3 billion for a medical equipment supply contract, with a significant amount traced to a Bureau de Change operator.
During the press briefing, Nwajah mentioned “the recovery of N300 million from Fezel Nigeria Limited, which was traced to the Zamfara Investment Company.”
The funds were linked to phantom projects in the local government areas.
The EFCC described Governor Matawalle’s recent statements as “a diversionary tactic, suggesting that he should be exempted from investigation just because other individuals are involved in corrupt activities.”
