Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Sylvester Ezeani has refunded N20million to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The cash is part of the N23.29billion bribe given to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials to change the results of the 2015 election.
Three RECs have been named in the scandal. One of them is dead.
The EFCC has seized two choice shopping malls from a REC Gesil Khan.
Besides, the account of the REC with about N59million has been frozen by the anti-graft agency.
A retired INEC official, Sani Isa, was questioned for N406,206,000 bribe allegedly collected on behalf of the deceased REC in Kano State, Alhaji Mukaila Abdullahi.
The number of INEC staff invited and questioned by the EFCC has risen to 100.
INEC is awaiting a comprehensive brief from the anti-graft agency on the affected staff, it was learnt that only President Muhammadu Buhari can determine the fate of the RECs.
Ezeani’s N20million came from the $115m(N23.29billion) which former Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke is said to have provided.
A source in EFCC, who spoke in confidence, said: “Faced by overwhelming evidence from our team, Ezeani has refunded to the commission N20million, which was traced to him.
“About N241million was allocated to INEC when Ezeani was the REC in Cross River State during the 2015 poll.
“We are working on other INEC staff to refund the cash credited to them from the slush funds. So far, about N503million has been recovered from INEC staff and politicians involved in the poll bribery scandal in Port Harcourt Zone alone.
“We are determined to retrieve a huge chunk of the N23.29billion bribe.”
Read More:
