The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s top anti-graft organisation, has levelled some new accusations against Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former minister of petroleum resources.
The former minister is charged by the EFCC with paying politicians $115 million to rig the 2015 presidential election.
At an INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) induction retreat for new resident electoral commissioners on Wednesday in Lagos, the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, announced this.
Bawa, who was represented by Adukwu Michael, the chief superintendent of the anti-graft agency, claimed that the commission’s investigation had shown how the former minister of petroleum resources had misappropriated money.
While serving as a minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan, Diezani is accused of stealing $2.5 billion from the Nigerian government.
The EFCC has since started the process to indict the former minister, who has refuted the accusations.
In the process, the Nigerian government obtained a court ruling ordering the forfeiture of Diezani’s properties, which included 18 flats and six penthouses in Banana Island Foreshore Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The head of the EFCC claimed on Wednesday that the agency had recovered some of the money that the former minister is accused of stealing.
He claims that the agency is concentrating on how to deter vote buying.
“The commission’s focus in election management is discouraging the use of money to influence the outcome of elections,” Bawa is quoted as saying.
“Political spending on elections frequently results in vote buying and voter enticement.
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Because they do not have adequate and practical policies to persuade the electorate to vote them into power, parties frequently bribe voters with cash.
“Whenever someone is persuaded to sell their vote, they immediately forfeit their moral right to criticise the corrupt tendencies of the elected.
The commission was able to unearth a grand scheme to sway the 2015 general election through significant cash payments to politicians thanks to the 2015 covert investigation.
“Diezani Alison-Madukwe, a former minister of petroleum resources, gave politicians 115 million dollars to tamper with the election.
“While many of the offenders are being prosecuted with few convictions recorded, some of the money was recovered. Inter-agency cooperation and information sharing are at the core of the EFCC strategy to reduce voter inducement.
“The EFCC is supporting other stakeholders’ efforts to inform the electorate about the significance of not trading votes.
“We are collaborating with INEC to ascertain and implement Electoral Act provisions relating to the cap on campaign spending by various categories of office seekers. This exercise is intelligence-based.
The EFCC discovered the $115 million spent by Diezani on stolen crude oil in May 2016.
“Our agents have found that the $115 million came from crude oil that was stolen.
They obtained it from Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, a senior EFCC official had claimed.
The source had further stated that “we will uncover how they came about the stolen crude oil and those used to syphon the oil in order to deny the nation of revenue” due to the “sensitivity of the matter.”
