Diezanigate: EFCC quizzes Imoke, detains Edo governorship aspirant

      

A former gover­nor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke has been grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over his role in the N23 billion election bribe scandal.
Imoke was quizzed at the anti-graft office in Port Harcourt for allegedly receiving N1.275 billion from Stallion Group during the 2015 general elections.
Another N775 million was also allegedly paid to him from the office of the Ac­countant General of the Federation “for an unstated purpose.”

All the monies were allegedly paid to him between December 2014 and May, 2015.
The commission’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the N500 million was part of the $115million allegedly lodged in Fidelity Bank Plc, in controversial circumstances, during the 2015 electioneering campaign period by the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison- Madueke.
According to Uwujaren, “Chief Liyel Imoke was on Wednesday quizzed by operatives of the EFCC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for his alleged involvement in the N500m collected by the Cross River State’s Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Ntufam Okon, from the sleazy $115m, (which) a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, lodged with Fidelity Bank in controversial circumstances during the 2015 campaign period.
“Imoke arrived at the Port Harcourt’s office of the EFCC by 10.15am on Wednesday and is answering questions being posed to him by investigators,” he said.

The EFCC also arrested a former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Imasuen, and former Secretary to the State Government of Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, for allegedly collecting N700m from the Diezani fund.

The commission alleged that the N700m was collected from the Mission Road branch of Fidelity Bank Plc, in Benin City in March 2015, and was conveyed in a bullion van.
The statement added, “Iyamu, a PDP Presidential Campaign Coordinator in the 2015 presidential election, admitted collecting the money from the bank.
“He told EFCC’s interrogators that he went to the bank on that fateful day with Imasuen and a former House of Representatives member representing Edo Central, Tony Azeigbemi (who has yet to be arrested by the EFCC), and the money was handed over to them by an official of the bank.
“Both Imasuen and Iyamu signed for the collection of the money.
“Investigations by the EFCC showed that the two politicians conveyed the money from the bank in a bullion van to the residence of a top politician in Edo State.
“The commission is on the trail of the politician for the recovery of the money.
“Both Imasuen and Iyamu are in the custody of the EFCC and would be charged to court soon