How Akpabio Stole Over N108 Billion From Akwa Ibom- Petitioner…As EFCC Quizzes Ex-Gov Over Alleged Fraud

Former Governor of Akwa Ibom state and minority leader of the Nigerian Senate, Obong Godswill Akpabio has been in the past hours telling operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) all he knows about an alleged N108 billion fraud during his tenure as the chief executive of the oil rich Niger Delta state between 2007 and 2015.

Only recently, Akpabio accused President Muhammadu Buhari of being selective in his war against corruption. ‎An Abuja-based lawyer and activist, Leo Ekpenyong had on June 8, 2015, petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari and the EFCC, calling for Akpabio’s probe. He had accused him of looting Akwa Ibom state treasury.

Mr. Ekpenyong was reportedly summoned on Wednesday, June 17, to the EFCC to adopt his petition and provide more details of some of the allegations he made against Mr. Akpabio in the lengthy petition.

In another petition to the EFCC, dated June 22, 2015 and copied to President Buhari and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, Ekpenyong gave more details of some of Akpabio’s alleged financial sleaze.

He had indicated that between January and December 2014, the ex-governor allegedly connived with two of his top aides to steal a whopping N108.1 billion from the state’s treasury.

Ekpenyong had told the EFCC that the former Government House Permanent Secretary, Etekamba Umoren, and the former Accountant General of the state, Udo Isobara, colluded with Akpabio to steal the funds.

“Between January –December 2014, it is on record that the trio of Godswill Akpabio, Mr. Etekamba Umoren and Mr. Udo Isobara, made illegal but substantial withdrawals of cash from a designated state government-owned account with Zenith Bank with account number: amounting to N22.1 billion.

“It is worthy of note that reasons for such ungodly cash withdrawals against financial regulations and due process laws range between sundry use and unjustifiable expenditures by Godswill Akpabio and his numerous surrogates and proxies.

“For example, a whopping N18 billion was withdrawn fraudulently from the state FAAC account with the United Bank for Africa in trenches of N10 million and above by Mr. Isobara in a surreptitious manner to conceal their dishonest intention,” he had alleged in the petition.

However, in a statement by Akpabio’s media aide, Jackson Udom, he denied that the senate minority leader was arrested as being erroneously peddled, but stated that Senator Akpabio went to EFCC this evening on his own volition based on some allegations by one Leo Ekpenyong to the EFCC.

“This evening, senator Akpabio left his Abuja residence to honour an invitation by the EFCC. So the issue of being arrested is certainly out of it. Media practitioners should be able to differentiate between an arrest and an invitation so that the reading public would not be misled”, Akpabio’s aide added.