News As Okonjo- Iweala, Alison-Madueke, Kola Aluko under investigation –EFCC

Latest report has review that Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, yesterday told the House of Representatives that former Finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is being investigated by the anti- graft agency. 

Magu, who spoke before the Kayode Oladele- led  Committee on Financial Crimes during the agency’s  budget defence  also said former minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke and a businessman believed to be her close associate, Kola Aluko, are persons of interest to the EFCC.

The EFCC boss said this when he responded to questions asked by a member of the committee,  Razak Atunwa who had earlier asked whether the two ministers and

Aluko were included in the investigative list of the anti-graft agency. “Very soon, we will go into the petroleum industry,” was Magu’s reply.

He said such an investigation requires that “we have to build capacity, we have to bring in experts to enable us tackle what we are doing properly and the investigation must be conducted properly. We have internal lawyers and external lawyers; we have to pay insurance.”

Meanwhile, Speaker  Yakubu Dogara has said the National Assembly will soon begin work on its own version of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

The speaker, made this known at a courtesy call by the international board of Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) at the National Assembly yesterday. He also  said the bill, which is in final stages, will be given expeditious consideration on the floor of both chambers of the National Assembly.

Dogara told the delegation that in line with the resolve of the House of Representatives to fully cooperate with President Muhammadu Buhari to implement reforms in the oil, gas and mining sectors,  the House will give both sectors priority attention.

“We have repeatedly, called on the executive to present reform proposals in the petroleum sector. However, we may not continue to wait for an executive bill on this subject matter as we are prepared  to introduce the National Assembly’s version; what we believe should be the legal framework for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.”

“We cannot continue to take the blame for non-passage of the petroleum reform legislation in Nigeria. As I speak with you, work on our own version has reached advanced stage and hopefully, we hope to introduce it in both chambers of the National Assembly. If it happens that the executive transmits its own version of its own vision of the oil sector, we have ample provision in the House Rules for us to merge the two together. We will not continue to wait.”

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…Probes ex-Chief of Defence Staff, Badeh

From Henry Chukwurah, Abuja

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, in Abuja, began the interrogation of former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd), over his role in the $2.1 billion arms purchase being probed by the anti-graft agency.

Badeh, who made a brief appearance at the commission’s headquarters last week, was directed to return yesterday.

EFCC sources said the former defence chief was quizzed for several hours and as at 7 pm, he was still with his interrogators. It was not clear whether he was detained or allowed to go home last night.

Efforts to get the agency’s spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujare, to speak on the matter failed.

Several retired and serving top military officers, including the former chief of Air Staff in Jonathan’s administration, Vice Admiral Amosu , have been interrogated on the controversial arms deal.