EFCC Arrests Former Imo Deputy Governor Over Corruption Allegations
Chief Gerard Alphonsus Irona, a former Deputy Governor of Imo State, has been detained by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to Nigerian News Daily, Irona, a PDP chieftain and deputy of Emeka Ihedioha, the former governor of Imo State, was arrested by EFCC operatives on Thursday.
Irona was apprehended around 10 a.m. at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and taken to the EFCC headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, for questioning.
Irona, who previously represented Oguta/Ohaji Egbema/Oru West Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives, is being investigated by the EFCC for alleged theft of public funds and money laundering.
During the defunct government of Ihedioha, the former Deputy Governor is accused of being involved in the collection of approximately N400 million monthly from the account of the Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC).
He’s also being investigated for allegedly mismanaging N5 billion in Rural Access Mobility Project counterpart funding (RAMP).
It was also discovered that after using his passport last year, the former Deputy Governor did not return it to the EFCC.
