By CrossRiverWatch admin
CrossRiverWatch can confirm that the Cross River State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ntufam John Okon is presently cooling his feet with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in their South South Zonal office in Port Harcourt.
Okon was arrested on Wednesday by operatives of the anti graft commission who stormed the State PDP secretariat along Murtala Mohammed Highway, in connection with the alleged N23.29b poll bribery scandal.
The agency also quizzed two of Okon’s co accused, Senator Chris Anyanwu and Buhari’s former counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ahamba, on the matter.
The trio were allegedly paid N1.2billion out of the N23.29billlion bribe allegedly given by former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison Maduekwe to compromise INEC officials in the last general election.
Anyanwu and Ahamba were allegedly paid N700m while Okon was paid N500million. CrossRiverWatch learnt that the Commission is preparing charges against the PDP Chair and he may be charged to court soon.
Other suspects named in the bribery scandal include some oil industry chiefs who were believed to have been used by the former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke to raise the bribe.
The oil barons contributed $88.35million of the $115million (N23.29b) sent to Fidelity Bank by the ex-minister.
The money was for some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to alter the results of last year’s presidential election.
Fidelity bank has since sacked their former Managing Director and appointed a new one at the break of the scandal.
SaharaReporters quotes an EFCC operative as saying: “Following the ongoing screening of the distribution list of the N23.29b cash, we discovered that N700million was paid to Anyanwu and Ahamba at Fidelity Bank in Ikenegbu Layout branch in Owerri.
“The payment was effected by the detained Head of Operations of Fidelity Bank, Martin Izuogbe, based on the directive of the MD of the bank.
“We have invited and interrogated Anyanwu and Ahamba at our Enugu Zonal Office on how they came about the cash, for what purpose and how the remittance trickled down – if it did.
“They have been granted administrative bail, but they were asked to come back on a scheduled date.”
“Okon was arrested in Calabar, the Cross River State capital for collecting N500million of the money.
“Investigations by the EFCC showed that Okon collected the money on 26th March, 2015 at a branch of Fidelity Bank in Calabar.
“The money was placed in the transit account at the Corporate Headquarters of Fidelity Bank but cash was made available to Okon in the Calabar branch of the bank.
“Okon is in the custody of the EFCC and would be charged to court soon,” he added.
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