Gov Fayose Sinks Deeper

By Our Correspondent

Embattled Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, may be sinking into deepr trouble with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following revelations by  one of the owners of the houses traced to him that the Governor actually bought a house worth N550 million from them. A top official of Still Earth Ltd and Signachorr Nigeria Ltd, that sold one of the properties to Mr. Fayose, said they will cooperate with the EFCC in its investigations of the source of funding of the embattled governor’s campaign in 2014, just as he disclosed that, Fayose was merely crying wolf as the Governor actually bought a property in Lagos at the cost of N550. The EFCC has been investigating Ayo  Fayose for allegedly collecting the sum of N1.2 billion from the Office of the erstwhile  National Security Adviser Col Sambo Dasuki through former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro. The EFCC which has since placed Ayo Fayose’s N1.299 billion bank account with Zenith Bank on freeze, has been pushing for the indictment of the Governor, but the Governor is challenging EFCC actions in the court. nationalTRAIL gathered that no fewer than seven houses have so far been  allegedly traced to the Ekiti State Governor by the EFCC all of which are suspected to have been purchased during his  he return to to office in 2014. A source from the sellers of one of the properties to the Governor told us that, Ayo  Fayose paid a deposit of N400 million for the said property through his close ally, Abiodun Agbele, who has been in EFCC custody, with a  promise to pay the balance later. The balance of N150 Million, we learnt  was later paid not through the same person that made the deposit or by himself, but it was paid through a company, Samchese Nigeria Limited. Unfortunately for Ayo Fayose, the EFCC was to later discover that the said Samchese Nigeria Limited is a contractor to Ekiti state Government, which fuelled speculations that the balance was actually a kick-back due to the Governor. Reports earlier quoted an official of Still Earth Ltd and Signachorr Nigeria Ltd, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, as saying the company will not hide anything from the EFCC since it was a genuine transaction and they didn’t know the money Fayose paid was from kick- back or NSA Office. “I want to tell you that we are a reputable company and have nothing to hide. We engaged in genuine transaction with Mr. Fayose and all the documents are there, he was quoted as further saying, noting, “We will not hide anything from the EFCC or any government agency that may be interested in the matter because our hands are clean. “Nobody is trying to implicate the Governor, he should own up now because we are not ready to play any dirty game with him as he did with Zenith Bank,” the source said. The EFCC has in an affidavit deposed to by one of her operatives stated in support of the freezing of Fayose’s account, that, “apart from fraudulently retaining the sum of N1, 219,490,000.00 being part of the N4, 745,000,000.00 stolen from the treasury of the Federal Government through the office of the National Security Adviser, the
Applicant (Fayose) has also received gratification in form of kick back from various contractors with the Ekiti State Government, such as Samchese Nigeria Ltd, Tender Branch Concept Nig. Ltd, Hoff Concept Ltd, Calibre Consulting Ltd “That the Applicant received these kick-backs and gratification through Still Earth Ltd and Signachorr Nigeria Ltd. “That, in turn, the Applicant (Fayose) instructed the Still Earth Ltd and Signachoor Nigeria Ltd to use the funds to acquire properties for him. “That in complying with the Applicant’s instruction, Still Earth Ltd and Signachoor Nigeria Ltd, acquired properties on behalf of the Applicant in the name of a company known as J.J. Technical Services Ltd belonging to the applicant and his wife. Attached and marked Exhibit EFCC 08 are
copies of the deeds of assignment for the said properties. The N1.2 billon being investigated is believed to be part of $2.1 billion meant for arms purchase but diverted for political purposes by the presidency through the office of erstwhile NSA Sambo Dasuki. These developments are coming amidst widespread protests by Ekiti citizens, who have risen against their Governor, for amassing so much wealth to himself at a time when workers are not being paid their salaries, pensioners are dying and citizens have been suffering from want. nationalTRAIL reports that, Ekiti indigenes seem to be regretting their actions in electing Ayo Fayose, who some of them described as being half literate, uncultured and encourages thuggery across the state.


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *