Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State has threatened to report the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to the Federal Government for intimidating governors, “for no just cause.”
Yari made the disclosure against the backdrop of allegations by the EFCC that he allegedly used N500m from the Paris refund loan to offset his personal loan obtained from First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited.
The anti-graft agency also alleged parts of the Paris Club loan refund were diverted from the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF’s account on Yari’s instruction.
But, Yari, who is the Chairman of NGF berated the agency, for not “tidying its work” before going to court.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Yari said all the allegations are lies, adding that, “all EFCC wants is for Nigerians to know it has invited a governor or that one former governor is arrested.”
He said, “I am going to write to the federal government that enough is enough; that either the EFCC should do its work or we should ‘do showdown’ with them (EFCC) because nobody became governor to be intimidated, to be harassed, to be abused by a DCP.
“You can’t fight corruption that way and forever, they (EFCC) will not achieve anything.
“In the case of my humble self, I have no idea why the EFCC is actually interested in the issue of the London Paris Club refund. It has been on this since inception up till now. It has been repeating, contradicting so many things especially about personalities.
“So, if there is anything wrong there, it should approach the person whom it suspects did something wrong, and not to be making noise about it. I challenge the chairman of EFCC to open up and say if he has ever come to me and interviewed me about what happened.
“We didn’t commit any fraud. I am not a signatory to that account but I am the head. So, it is what governors agree that I, as chairman, append my signature on. So now, they are saying $86m fraud, N19bn fraud, $3m hotel; which one do we believe?.”
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