Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara has threatened a showdown amongst the Economic as well as Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for accusing him of diverting role of Paris Club loan refunds.
The Governor, who is too the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) made the threat spell speaking amongst journalists on Th inwards Abuja.
Yari is defendant of diverting N500m as well as $500,000 from the Paris Club refunds made past times the Federal Government, inwards favour of the 36 states of the federation, to personal use.
He said he would formally write the Federal Government to complain close the antics of the commission`s Chairman, Ibrahim Magu against other governors.
“I am going to write to the Federal Government that plenty is enough; that either the EFCC does its locomote or nosotros create a present downwards amongst it,’’ he said.
He said spell governors on the forum`s platform were inwards back upward of Federal Government`s opinion against corruption, they were, however, opposed to the commission`s fashion of fighting the menace.
The governor urged EFCC to concentrate on the struggle against corruption rather than the pursuit of personal vendetta.
He stressed that no governor would walk into whatever bank’s potent room inwards connivance amongst its officials, or deep his hands into populace coffers every bit was existence alleged past times the commission inwards roughly cases.
The NGF Chairman said it was unfortunate that the EFCC, inwards most instances, acted on petitions sent to it without conducting proper investigation.
“You can’t but because somebody wrote a petition, then, you lot say you lot are working on it without doing your ain due diligent investigation,” Yari said.
Speaking on projection implementation inwards states, the governor said; “I believe EFCC does non receive got its ain engineers to quantify to know what is precisely on ground“.
He said projection cost deferred from province to province because of their dissimilar geographical terrain.
“A projection that is done inwards Rivers for N2 million, inwards Zamfara, it volition locomote close N150, 000.
“You cannot say the cost of things inwards Rivers should locomote the same inwards Zamfara or somewhere else.
‘’The terrain is only dissimilar hence is the cost as well as adventure which should locomote taken into consideration,” he said.
The governor farther said if the commission suspected that whatever province projection was over-inflated, it should engage the services of a quantity surveyor to ascertain the truth set of thing.
According to Yari, at that topographic point is a physical care for for every projection to locomote executed past times whatever governor earlier a contract is awarded.
“Like inwards Zamfara, nosotros receive got finance as well as full general role commission which is inwards accuse of tender as well as roughly states receive got tender board where the locomote is initiated from.
“There is documentation, memo raised, approved past times the council as well as in conclusion assented to past times the governor. “
He said governors were create to back upward the commission, adding, however, that properly affair must locomote done inwards the course of report of fighting corruption inwards the country.
He advised the commission to ensure proper investigation for effective struggle against corruption inwards the province to receive got meaning.
NAN