SaharaReporters reported how the former governor was grilled on Monday at the Ilorin Command Office to answer questions regarding an allegation of diversion of billions of Naira during his tenure.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is planning to charge former Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed before a Federal High Court in Ilorin over an alleged diversion of over N10billion.
SaharaReporters reported how the former governor was grilled on Monday at the Ilorin Command Office to answer questions regarding an allegation of diversion of billions of Naira during his tenure.
The commission discovered that some funds belonging to the state were misappropriated and diverted by Ahmed’s government and Saraki's government in which he served as the Commissioner for Finance.
Giving an update on the issue, a source at the agency told The Nation that: “The ex-governor was questioned on the diversion and mismanagement of N10billion funds of the Kwara State Government during his tenure as governor between 2011 and 2019.
“It is about alleged diversion, misappropriation of funds and money laundering. We have been on this investigation since 2019.
The source added: “We are trying to tidy up the investigation ahead of the arraignment of the ex-governor before the Federal High Court in Ilorin.
“We want to avert recourse to frivolous applications on jurisdiction which may drag for some time. We will put the ex-governor on trial in Kwara State.
“We have detained the former governor to enable him to respond to some issues.”
Ahmed was appointed as the Commissioner for Finance in Kwara after Saraki assumed office as governor in 2003.
He also served as the treasurer of the Forum of Commissioners of Finance in Nigeria and the Chairman of the Budget Formulation Committee and Economic Team of Kwara State.
In the build-up to the 2011 general elections, Ahmed contested and won the primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He won the Kwara governorship seat and re-election after succeeding Saraki, who also won the election to represent Kwara Central senatorial district in the National Assembly after completing two terms as governor.
Ahmed left office in 2019 and was succeeded by the incumbent governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Ahmed was earlier arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2021 for alleged N9 billion fraud.
Ahmed was in the interrogation room for about seven hours, writing statements during his first encounter with EFCC barely three years ago