A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kogi State, Austin Okai, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to bring the immediate past governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, to justice over alleged misappropriation of funds.
Okai, who was the House of Representatives candidate for Dekina/Bassa in the 2023 elections, made the call in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
He said in spite of the arduous task of protecting the state, it is imperative not to overlook the plight of civil servants grappling with the repercussions of fiscal misdeeds.
He recalled that Justice Tijani Ringim, a vacation judge, had on August 31, 2021, ordered the freezing of government accounts following an ex-parte application filed by the EFCC.
“The anti-graft agency, in a 13-paragraph affidavit in support of the ex-parte application, had stated that it received credible and direct intelligence.
“The intelligence which led to the tracing of funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities in an account No. 0073572696 domiciled in Sterling Bank Plc with the name Kogi State Salary Bailout Account.
Moving the application for the interim forfeiture of the funds on August 31, 2021, A. O. Mohammed, counsel to the EFCC, had urged the court to grant the order to prevent further dissipation of the funds in the account.
“Mohammed had also told Justice Ringim that the N20 billion meant to augment payment of salary and running cost of the government was kept in an interest-yielding account with the bank,” he said.
Okai said the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, debunked the allegation then and said that the state government judiciously used the funds for its intended purpose.
