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Kogi Government Disproves EFCC’s Allegation of Money Laundering
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had accused the Kogi State Government of engaging in money laundering (EFCC).
Kingsley Fanwo, the state’s commissioner for information and communication In a statement released on Thursday in Lokoja, the EFCC, which is headed by Abdulrasheed Bawa, called the accusation as fuel for its campaign of persecution against the administration.
The commissioner’s comment was in response to a news release that was purportedly published on the EFCC website and claimed that they had arrested several people they claimed were involved in the laundering of funds belonging to the Kogi State government.
The statement said that the commission had made it plain through its current claims that it was frantically trying to salvage face following a setback in its N20 billion Sterling Bank media trial.
The commissioner bemoaned the Sterling Bank affair from some time ago, when the Commission rushed to the media before conducting a thorough investigation, and claimed that the EFCC was once more poised to jeopardize itself and its reputation by doing the same when it came to its ongoing persecution of the Kogi government.
The Commissioner argued that Nigerians should query the EFCC about if their “biased” corruption searchlight was exclusively intended for Kogi State while adamantly stating that no money belonging to the Kogi State Government had been laundered.
The Commissioner observed that the EFCC has a tendency to oppose international organizations’ recognition of the Kogi State Government’s right to due process and financial responsibility.
It specifically referred to the recent honor bestowed to the Kogi State Government by the SFTAS project, which was supported by the World Bank and elevated Kogi above peers in financial accountability.