EFCC Boss, Bawa Briefs President Tinubu On Akpabio’s Corruption Cases

• …. Opens Can of Worms on Akpabio

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa has compounded the woes of a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio who is running for the presidency of the Senate.

The EFCC Czar was said to have opened the can of worms of the series of financial crimes allegations being investigated by the commission which had necessitated the commission to invite Senator Akpabio twice but he failed to honour the invitation.

Bawa, at a closed-door meeting with the new president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday briefed the president on the ongoing investigation of Senator Akpabio on cases of corruption among other matters.

Competent security sources disclosed to our correspondent in Abuja last night that the EFCC Chairman was upbeat on the Akpabio’s criminal cases when he discussed them with his crack team in their office earlier today.

The source who declined to give details of the directives given to the crack team on the matter, hinted that Senator Akpabio may soon be invited to the EFCC again.

The EFCC Boss was in the villa, ostensibly to brief the president on the rumpus between the commission and the DSS which led to the storming of the Ikoyi EFCC office on Tuesday.

The EFCC had severally invited Senator Akpabio for interrogation on sundry financial crimes allegations.

He is at present facing corruption charges and has been invited to meet officials of the anti-graft commission, EFCC by Tuesday over cases of money laundering and theft running into billions of Naira.

Among other allegations, Akpabio has been alleged of perpetrating a N40b fraud when he headed the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC.

In 2020, the Senate and the House of Representatives resolved to probe the alleged N40 billion financial recklessness of the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC being supervised by Akpabio.

Also, there were allegations of over 86 billion Naira contract scam involving the senator–elect and a former acting Managing Director of NDDC, Prof Kemebbradikumo Pondei which the EFCC has been investigating.

The EFCC had in the past arrested Godswill Akpabio over the alleged theft of N108 billion of Akwa Ibom state funds.

The EFCC had earlier invited Akpabio to appear for questioning on March 29, but his lawyer, Umeh Kalu, SAN, in a letter to the anti-graft agency claimed that his client was suffering from pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmia.

Already most of the senators-elect are withdrawing their support as they argued that it would tarnish the image of the Senate if one with baggage is allowed to head the highest legislative chamber in the country.