Chime
For a second time, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has grilled Barr. Sullivan Chime and his former aides. The former Governor of Enugu State appeared before the EFCC interrogators on Monday. DAILY POST reports that Chime, who is being probed in connection with N450m campaign fund of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, drove himself to the EFCC’s zonal office in Enugu in an SUV with registration number ENUGU CV 960 ENU. The former Governor, clad in brown clothes, arrived the anti-commission’s office at exactly 10:58 am, in company of his orderly. Before his arrival, one of his close aides, Ikeje Asogwa, equally reported at the commission with a vehicle marked ENUGU 06D-01EN. Ikeje, who served as the Managing Director of the Enugu Housing Development Corporation, just completed his tenure as the Enugu State Chairman of the PDP. It was gathered that their appearance was in keeping with the conditions of bail granted them earlier by the commission. Our correspondent further reports that Barr. Charles Egumgbe, who also served in Chime’s government and was the chairman of the PDP campaign organization, also showed up at 10:10 am. He is the pioneer chairman of the PDP in Enugu State and later served as a commissioner under the administration of ex-Governor Chimaroke Nnamani. Before leaving the commission, a journalist had jokingly told Egumgbe “congratulations sir for coming out”, to which he responded, “Yes, I’m out.” It could be re-called that the EFCC had on Wednesday grilled Chime for allegedly receiving N450m out of the $115m (N23bn) disbursed by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, during the build-up to the 2015 presidential election. During the interrogation, the ex-governor was said to have told detectives that he handed over the money to the Secretary of the campaign office, Mrs. Rita Mba, who was also the state’s Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Government Affairs. The source quoted Chime as saying that the money was brought by two of his former commissioners, Joe Nmamnel and Mrs Rita Mba, in company with the Chairman of the PDP, Enugu State, Ikeji Asogwa, and Prof. Osita Ogbu. “He further stated that he gave the money to his orderly for safe keep and that only Rita Mba should have access to it to facilitate her work as secretary of the campaign secretariat. He denied personally disbursing the fund,” the source added.
Before Chime reported on Wednesday, all his aides involved in the alleged deal have equally been grilled.
Meanwhile, sources hinted that Chime and his former aides, especially Rita Mba are singing discordant tunes before the detectives.
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