Buhari in dilemma over former governors now elected senators who face corruption charges

 

PRESIDENT-elect General Muhammadu Buhari is facing a dilemma of what to do with several outgoing governors who have been elected into the new senate that are facing corruption charges with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). 

General Buhari who was elected having promised to combat corruption and kleptomania in public office on March 28, is due to assume office on May 29. It is believed, however, that cases involving fraud said to be as much as N172bn (£550m) has been put together by the EFCC against some senators-elect who were former governors. 

Over 15 ex-governors won senate seats in the March 28 National Assembly elections with many of them having cases of corruption ranging from misappropriation of public funds to money laundering hanging over their necks. Some of the governors were in the senate before the last elections while a fresh set will be joining them when the new legislature is inaugurated on June 6. 

Among the former governors elected as senators, who allegedly have fraud cases against them include Bukola Saraki, Theodore Orji, Adamu Aliero, Sam Egwu, Joshua Dariye, Danjuma Goje and Abdullahi Adamu. Senators are not immune from prosecution under Nigeria's constitution, so General Buhari will have to decide on whether to allow the EFCC to prosecute them or not. 

 For instance, former Ebonyi State governor, Dr Sam Egwu, recently won the parliamentary election to represent Ebonyi North Senatorial District in spite of the corruption charges levelled against him. He allegedly misappropriated close to N80bn (£256m) while in office as governor between 1999 and 2007. 

 Former Nasarawa State governor Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who was in office between 1999 and 2007 has been a senator since 2011 and has pending cases with the EFCC. In February, 2010, Senator Adamu was arrested by the EFCC and on March 3, he was arraigned in court alongside 18 others on a 149-count charge of fraud involving over N15bn (£48m) but the case has continued to drag in court with no headway. 

Similarly, the former Gombe State governor Senator Danjuma Goje, and four others, were arraigned in court on October 17, 2011 on conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges. He allegedly embezzled N52bn (£166.27m) of public funds. 

 Senator Bukola Saraki, who is currently vying for the seat of the senate president, has been a subject of investigations by the Special Fraud Unit of the Police following allegations of an N11bn (£35m) loans scam preferred against him. These said loans were allegedly secured by Senator Saraki between 2004 and 2009 when he was the governor of Kwara State. 

Adamu Aliero, now a senator-elect, the governor of Kebbi State between May 1999 and May 2007, was reported to the EFCC over a N10.2bn (£32.6m) fraud case, although it is learnt that the allegations were not investigated. On July 13, 2007, the EFCC arraigned former Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye, on a 23-count charge bordering on money laundering and other corruption charges, accusing him of diverting about N1.2bn (£3.8m) of the state’s ecological funds into the account of Ebenezer Ratnen Venture, one of the companies through which he allegedly siphoned public funds. 

Outgoing Abia State governor Theodore Orji, is also being investigated in connection in connection with the whereabouts of about N1.9632bn (£6.3m) allegedly transferred under the guise of travel estacodes to the governor, his deputy, their wives and families. It is believed he and 23 other persons swelled the governor’s entourage to the World Igbo Congress held in Tampa Bay, Florida, in the US in 2008. 

Source: Nigerian Watch