NATIONAL DAILY

Imoke, Duke face arrest

• Imoke to answer for power sector scam • Duke to be quizzed over N1b Bakassi resettlement fund,N555m mansion

By DICKSON OMONODE

THE former governor of Cross River State Mr. Donald Duke and his successor former Power and Steel Minister Mr. Liyel Imoke, whose election was voided by the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar last week, may soon have some questions to answer as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have concluded plans to invite them over their activities while in office.

EFCC sources told National Daily that while Duke’s case is linked to his management of N1billion fund meant to resettle Bakassi, deductions from council funds and purchase of government property worth N555million in Ikoyi area of Lagos in March, 2007, Imoke has to account for his stewardship as Minister for Mines and Power during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration which is currently being probed by the House of Representatives Committee on Power Sector following the alleged discovery of multi-billion dollar scam in the sector.

The case against Duke is that the N555million used in paying for No. 1 Temple Road, Ikoyi in March 2007 before leaving office, which later became a subject of litigation could not have been his legitimate income as his total income as governor for the eight years he was in office could not have amounted to that. He had legitimately earned less than the amount.

The former governor had told court early this year that he paid the sum of N555 million to purchase the house while he was serving as governor but could not immediately take possession. The property had been the official residence of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Lagos before the Federal Government policy on sale of its properties across the federation.
Since Duke’s legitimate income was far less than the amount paid for the property, the only alternative genuine source of fund for the purchase could have been a loan from bank or mortgage institution. This, our source said, has not been established by the EFCC investigation hence the ex-governor would have to explain further.

This case has however opened the door other allegations against Duke for which he will now be quizzed by the EFCC.
The Cross River chapter of a group which is simply identified as Transparency in Nigeria and Cross River Movement for Justice had in a petition the Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri requested for the investigation of Duke over the source of the funding Luxury property on No.9A Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria known as ‘Admiralty Towers’.
The group said: “We write in request of the above subject matter. We are Anti-Corruption Non Governmental Organizations based in Calabar, Cross River State of Nigeria. In consonance with the objectives of these NGOS ,we humbly and respectfully invite you to launch an investigation into the ownership of No. 9 A Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos known as ‘ ADMIRALTY TOWERS’. The property is a Three Sets of High Rise luxury Flats. Presently it is rented to some multinational oil firms. We suspect that this massive property was built with proceeds from ‘dirty money’ stolen by Mr. Donald Duke, Governor of Cross River State of Nigeria, 1999-2007.”

They further requested the anti-graft agency to launch investigation into all the petitions “we had submitted to your Commission against Donald Duke and his wife for the massive corruption, graft and stealing of public funds in Cross River State which the Commission had refused to investigate.”

The Dukes who have been guests of the independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over similar allegations including the undervaluation of the Calabar Metropolitan Hotel which the former musician-governor is being accused of selling to self will also answer issues around the deduction of allocation of money from the Federation Accounts to the Local Government Councils in Cross River State from 2003-2007.

The group stated “We invite the EFCC to investigate the role of Mrs. Onari Duke and her NGO ‘Enterprise Nigeria Foundation’ in the illegal withdrawal of hundreds of millions of Naira from the Joint State Local Government Accounts into the coffers of the said NGO. We had sent to the Commission payment vouchers showing how these monies were illegally siphoned from the Joint State Accounts.”

They also alleged the misappropriation of the sum of N1 billion allocated for the resettlement of the people of Bakassi affected by the Green Tree Agreement between Nigeria and Cameroon as well as the disappearance of more than N2 Billon awarded Cross River State by the Supreme Court in a case instituted by the Cross River State against the Federal Government of Nigeria and Akwa Ibom State over the ownership of Oil Wells from the coffers of the state.

The attention of the anti-corruption agency was further drawn to the indebtedness of the state which is approximately put in the region of more than N120 Billion, a development which pitched him against his successor when the later uncovered it. “All these debts were incurred by Duke under the guise of the development of the Tinapa Business Resort even after he claimed the project was private sector driven. We believe that the money used to develop the said No. 9 A Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos known as ‘Admiralty Towers’ came from these illicit deals that were the hallmarks of Donald Duke’s Government in Cross River State. We urge you to save the future generation of Cross River State from being perpetual debtors over questionable loans that ended up in the private pockets of corrupt officials,” the group concluded.

Imoke, whose election was voided last Monday by the Court of Appeal with a subsequent order for a re-run of the governorship election, is alleged to have been heavily indicted by the Ndudi Elumelu-led House Committee on power sector.
Fillers from sources close to the Committee hinted that Imoke may get similar treatment to that meted to former minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nasir el Rufai which banned him from holding public office in future. If this happens, his chances of contesting again in the re-run election would be foreclosed, thus rubbishing the hope of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regaining Cross River State as one of its controlled states.

Sources at the anti-corruption agency disclosed that there has been flood of petitions against the recently ousted Cross River Governor requesting his investigation and prosecution over his roles in the widely publicised $16b power sector scam.
The investigation which has been ongoing but did not unsettle Imoke because of the immunity he enjoyed as governor revolved around the activities of the former Senator during his tenures as Chairman, Technical Committee on the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), and Minister of Power and Steel from 2003 to 2006.

The petitioners expressed displeasure that “there is nothing on ground to show that such enormous amount of money was ever budgeted nor utilised for the purpose for which it was budgeted. Meanwhile the Man on whose shoulders this National Responsibility was placed was promoted to Governor of a State.”

It will be recalled that during the Public Hearing of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Power, there were sordid and scandalous revelations that majority of contracts awarded to companies to execute power plants projects in the country were not executed. It was also revealed that that Senator Liyel Imoke As Minister for Power unilaterally awarded contracts to ‘Portfolio Companies’ and others for the construction of power plants without compliance with Due Process and Competitive Bidding, which were major policy planks of the Federal Government Of Nigeria.

Imoke admitted before the committee on oath that Due Process was not followed because he obtained waiver and this we respectfully submit was a contravention of government’s financial regulations in furtherance of his private interest.
It was also revealed that contracts were recklessly and haphazardly awarded to Companies by Imoke without a scintilla of evidence that they have track record and cognitive experience in the execution of such highly technical projects in gross violation of government’s financial regulations and policy.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Finance Minister, revealed this much at the public hearing. As a result, $2.2bn projects were awarded without bidding process.

One of the Companies has a capital base of just $200. It was further revealed that 34 illegal and unregistered firms were awarded contracts worth N6.2 Billion.

Consequently, the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC), Hamman Tukur, an engineer, disclosed at the hearing that a power project commissioned by the last administration in Cross River was discovered to be an ‘empty site! ". The said project located in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State was awarded to a company that allegedly fronted for Imoke.

The House Committee while on the spot assessment tour of power projects in the Niger Delta region reportedly discovered an uncompleted N9.8bn power project that was commissioned in Bayelsa State.

Imoke, according to EFCC sources will also answer the scandal involving the concessionaire of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant in Kogi State during his tenure as Minister in charge of the Steel Sector.

“We invite you to investigate the purchase of choice properties in Chelsea in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America by Imoke using fronts. If former Ministers such as Femi Fani-Kayode, Dr. Borishade and others have been arrested and charged for alleged misappropriation of a mere N19b, there is no justification why Imoke should not be made to face the same music,” stated the petition signed on behalf of the Cross River chapter of Transparency in Nigeria by Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla.

Similarly, Imoke whose arrest may be inevitable going by the findings of the House Committee on Power Sector was also one of Obasanjo’s favoured ministers under whose tenure the alleged monumental scam in the power sector took place.
Duke and Imoke besides serving as governors of Cross River at different times seem to have something in common which some observers in their state seem not to have understood. Dust is yet to settle over the ambiguity associated with the funding of the multi-billion naira TINAPA – a tourist project floated by Duke’s administration.

While the public was initially made to believe that the project which cost was put at about N65billion was funded by the Cross River State Government and private sector funds in the form of bank loan, later day revelations after Duke’s departure from office as governor that there were deductions from the 18 local governments in the state towards the project and till he left office the amount so far contributed by these local governments to the project was not made known.
Imoke on assumption of office was expected to enquire into the project and strengthen issues for purposes of confidence building, but not much has been done on the TINAPA issue, thus giving the impression that there may be more to the project and suspected scam than the public has known.

There is however a very strong belief in some quarters that the renewed wave of arrest of former government officials by the EFCC is a ploy to weaken former President Obasanjo’s influence in the country. The recent arrest of two former Aviation Ministers; Prof. Babalola Borishade and Chief Femi Fani-Kayode by the anti-graft agency in connection with the mismanagement of several billions of Aviation Intervention Fund was one of such cases as Fani-kayode in particular was overtly pro-Obasanjo during his days as Presidential Assistant before he succeeded Borishade in the Aviation ministry. But whether or not those being arrested are close to any power bloc, the issue remains that if they have soiled their hands then they must answer for their crimes, others argue, adding that it was the case under the former president Obasanjo.