Governor Bello Matawalle, Zamfara State, Northwestern Nigeria has invited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to to search his property where he is alleged to have concealed large sums of money.
Gatekeepers News reports that Matawalle said this in reaction to a news report alleging that the EFCC discovered billions of naira stashed in houses by himself and two other governors.
The Governor in a statement on Thursday through the State’s Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara, said the offer to the anti-graft agency became necessary to counter the “designed connivance by enemies of Zamfara and vanguards of disruption to rupture his hard earned reputation and the progress he had made as a governor”.
The statement read, “The government will not take it lightly with anyone who tries to add salt to the security injury inflicted on the good people of Zamfara through tarnishing the good image of the governor.“
Matawalle added that he has been running the state in the most “responsible and trustworthy manner” since taking office as the governor.
He further demanded a retraction of the report, adding that he would not allow anyone to ridicule him before the people and relegate his administration’s efforts.
Also, in a letter addressed to the EFCC, the governor, through his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, said he is volunteering himself for investigation.
The letter read, “This letter comes on the heels of an earlier letter writ with to you by our client, with a view to dispelling the cocktail of lies woven around our client with a view to presenting the correct facts and our client’s clear position to you.
“Our client categorically states that the entire story amounts to a sheer smear campaign mounted against him by political opponents who are driven by malignant political vendetta and vicious desperation against our client’s ambition to regain his seat as governor of Zamfara state come 2023.
“Our client has voluntarily offered himself to be thoroughly investigated for the purpose of unearthing these alleged humongous monies and denigrating the governor.”
Earlier in the year, it was reported that the EFCC is investigating the governor over money laundering allegations.
The anti-graft agency had claimed that its decision to investigate Matawalle emanated from intelligence it got, which indicated that the governor was allegedly “using state funds to acquire several properties worth billions of naira in Abuja.”
The commission said this in a counter-affidavit it filed in a fundamental rights enforcement suit instituted by a firm, Fezel Nigeria Limited.
Fezel accused the EFCC of invading its property which is leased to a printing press company.
However, the anti-graft agency insisted that the property was allegedly acquired by the Zamfara governor.
Nevertheless, delivering judgement in the suit on August 30, the presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo held that the firm effectively established its ownership of the property and that the manner the EFCC forcefully entered and took over the property violated the applicant’s fundamental human rights.
Justice Ekwo also held that the EFCC lacked the powers to seal off any citizen’s property or deny him/her access to it without first obtaining a court order.
