Senate
President, Bukola Saraki, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) to disclose the identity of owner of the $43 million (N15
billion)
discovered at the Ikoyi, Lagos luxury apartment and save Nigerians the
embarrassment the controversy trailing the recovered money has caused.
He warned that
not doing so would further dent the image of the country, especially as it
concerns the war on corruption.
The Senate
president, who spoke on Arise Television, while reechoing calls by prominent
Nigerians, including two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana and
Mike Ozekhome, said the EFCC should not have allowed the controversy over
ownership of the money to have arisen.
According to
him, the commission should save the country the ongoing debate about who kept
the money there, by naming those connected to it.
He said: “I
don’t think I should speculate or join the conversation on who the money
belongs to. I know it is the responsibility of the EFCC to reveal who the money
belongs to. This is very simple. The agency that recovered the money should
reveal who the money belongs to, in order to put an end to this.
“It is not
good for the image of this country. It is not good for EFCC image if it is not
what it claims to be. We have heard different views, whether it is an
individual, company, state government or an agency. I
think this
circus must end. They owe it to Nigerians to tell us who the money belongs to.
I am of the view that the fight against corruption is institutional and we must
reduce this sensationalism.
“This matter
should not have happened in the first place. If they don’t resolve it, we might
invite them, but I am saying it should not have
arisen at all.
“They (EFCC)
must save Nigeria this embarrassment and if they don’t put it to rest, they
might come before the House of Representatives or the Senate.”
The Senate
president, who also spoke about a wide range of issues concerning the
relationship between the executive and the legislature, said the two arms of
government were not at war.
He contended
that the nature of presidential system of government,
which Nigeria
practices, gives room for checks and balances, adding that the Senate had
always responded positively to presidential nominations.
Saraki
declared that one or two instances should not be used to judge the relationship
between the Senate or the National Assembly and the executive, adding that 90
per cent of the presidential nominees were passed.
The Senate
president also declared that the committee on executive-legislature face-off,
set up by the Presidency, was yet to communicate the Senate since the
announcement.
Saying the
executive might have changed its mind on the committee, Saraki stated that the
team was not set up because of the rejection of Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the
EFCC.
Meanwhile, as
part of its efforts to ascertain the owner of the recovered N15 billion, the
EFCC has conducted searches in flats in the Ikoyi building.
Daily Sun
gathered that the anti-corruption agency, after the discovery of the money,
sent its operatives to search all the flats in the building, following initial
suspicion that some tenants therein may know something about the occupant of
the apartment where the money was discovered.
Since nothing
incriminating was discovered in the flats so searched, nobody has been invited
for questioning or arrested, it was gathered.
Reacting, Val
Obienyem, media aide to the former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi,
confirmed the search of his boss’ flat by EFCC.
According to
him, a search was conducted on Flat 1, occupied by the former governor, just as
other flats Sun news reported.
Obienyem
revealed that Flat 1 in the building was rented by Obi’s wife, but the
ex-governor, who resides in Onitsha, Anambra State, usually stays there anytime
he visits Lagos.
On what
happened, he said: “Even though Mr. & Mrs. Obi had travelled to the USA and
the UK for speaking engagements, when we relayed the message of the search to
him, he quickly sent the keys to the four-bedroom apartment to the EFCC via
courier. He even left instructions that we should allow them to also search his
Onitsha residence, should there be need for that. After the thorough searching,
nothing was found in the apartment.”
Obienyem said
during the search one of the EFCC operatives doubted if the apartment had
anything to do with Obi, citing the fact that it was the simplest, in terms of
furnishing.
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