There are indications that some former and serving members of the House of Representatives under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may have to refund about N600m they allegedly collected during the administration of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, for the purpose of seeking re-election.
Other affected PDP members who allegedly shared in the slush funds from the office of the former National Security Adviser are also expected to return their part of the loot to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, The Nation reports.
Such PDP stalwarts reportedly include: Bode George, Yerima Abdullahi; Peter Odili; Attahiru Bafarawa; Jim Nwobodo; Ahmadu Ali, and Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi who were said to have received between N100m /$30,000 each.
Others are Bello Sarkin Yaki, N200m; BAM Properties, N300m; Dalhatu Investment Limited, N1.5bn; Tony Anenih, N260m; and Iyorchia Ayu’s company, N345m.
The report said investigation revealed that some former and serving members of the House of Representatives received the sum of N380m to prosecute their re-election campaign.
The slush funds were allegedly transferred to Belsha Nigeria Limited’s bank account controlled by Bello Matanwalle for onward disbursement to support some members of the House of Representatives so as to prosecute their re-election campaigns.
The Reps Members were said to have collected between N10m and N50m, the report said.
Claiming that the N380m was not only the slush fund made available to the Reps seeking re-election, the newspaper quoted sources who knew about the illicit disbursement as squealing that the Reps members got their share of the slush fund directly from the Office of the former National Security Adviser, ONSA.
The anti-graft agency was reported to have retrieved more payment vouchers involving some members of the House of Reps, adding that the list of the representatives may soon be out; detailing who collected what.
A source inside the EFCC, who spoke with The Nation, said: “As we go into the trial of some accused persons, our ultimate goal is to retrieve looted funds. We will certainly ask most of these beneficiaries to refund the public funds illegally disbursed to them.
“We are eager to collect the funds back in order to channel them into the development of the nation.
“Some of these bigwigs have been making overtures to the EFCC to allow them to make refund instead of being put on trial.
“As President Muhammadu Buhari said, we will publish the list of those who may make refunds.
“A few of them will serve as our witnesses in court against accused persons.
“But we are looking for some of them who were invited but managed to sneak out of the country.
“Whatever the case and wherever they are hiding, we will bring them to justice.”
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