N23bn Bribe: 205 Officials In Trouble As EFCC Beams Searchlight On INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has beamed its searchlight on the commission, as it is currently probing its officials in 20 states for allegedly receiving bribe during the 2015 elections.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said that the anti-graft agency was already probing 205 of its officials for allegedly receiving part of the N23bn reportedly disbursed by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani-Alison Madueke.

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It is understood that the money was purportedly doled out to the INEC officials in a desperate bid to compromise results of the 2015 polls.

Speaking during a quarterly consultative meeting with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Yakubu said he would continue to cooperate with the anti-graft agency.

He added that the South-South geopolitical zone recorded the highest number of people who took part in the Continuous Voter Registration between the months of April and September 2017.

Yakubu said the last report given to him by the EFCC involved 16 states, adding that the EFCC was already probing INEC officials in 20 other states

He said, “I want to say that this is the first time in the history of our elections that in one fell swoop, 205 officials were disciplined based on the interim report we received from the EFCC covering 16 states.

“Under the terms and conditions of service what we can do is to interdict them which means placing them on half salary and suspending them from work until their innocence or guilt is established. The last report covered 16 states and only last week I heard they had started prosecuting them.

“However, after receiving the report, we had a discussion with the EFCC and told them that for the outstanding 20 states, they should not submit any interim report to INEC but just prosecute them.

“Once they are taken to court, we activate the provisions of the terms and conditions of service. Whatever we need to do we will do even if it means getting rid of everybody in the commission and recruiting afresh for the purpose of the 2019 elections. We are committed to doing so.”

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