5hrs After Leaving Office, EFCC Receives Petition To Invite Aregbesola

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola may become the latest former governor to be grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the anti-corruption agency has received a fresh petition to invite the governor for questioning.

This comes as the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation for Osun State (CSCEOS) has written the EFCC, asking it to summon Aregbesola over previous allegations of corruptions levelled against the immediate past Osun governor.

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Aregbesola had earlier handed over power to Mr Gboyega Oyetola, winner of the last governorship election held in the state.

In a letter addressed to the EFCC, the Chairman of CSCEOS, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, called the attention of the anti-corruption agency to previous petitions written against Aregbesola while he was governor of the state.

“We write to remind your good office of our petition letter dated 4th April, 2016 on the above subject matter and also received by the National Headquarters of the Commission on 8th April, 2016, where the outgoing Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and few of his aides were fingered in the alleged illegal Local Government funds diversion to the tune of N205 billion between November 2010 to August 2015,” read the letter.

“The governors’ aides include; the then 30 Executive Secretaries of the local governments, Head of Local Government Administration (HLA), Auditor-General of the Local Government, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

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“Others are Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Bolorunduro, Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Bola Ilori, Commissioner for Special Duties and Regional Integration, Mr. Ajibola Bashiru and Commissioner for Local Government, Mr. Kolapo Alimi.

“Our petition necessitated your invitation letter dated 13th May, 2016, informing the Civil Society Organization (CSO) to show up at your Ibadan Zonal Office for an interview with the Head Team B, to endorse the all the allegations of financial crimes established against the aforementioned people contained in our petition letter and which CSCEOS did with additional evidences to prove our facts beyond reasonable doubt.

“In view of the above, we wish to inform your Commission that the Principal leader in this alleged financial crime and former governor of the state, Mr. Aregbesola has ceased to be governor of the state and is not covered again by immunity alienated him from prosecution for financial crimes since November 2010,” said Sulaiman.

The Civil Society group urged the EFCC to observe fair play by inviting and grilling the former Osun governor, just the way it invited and is currently trying former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose, for alleged corruption.

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