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November 10, 2022
SaharaReporters had reported how billions of naira in cash stashed in various houses of some serving governors were discovered by EFCC operatives.
Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle has written the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), offering to grant the anti-graft agency access to his houses to ransack them over the humongous cash reportedly stashed there.
SaharaReporters had reported how billions of naira in cash stashed in various houses of some serving governors were discovered by EFCC operatives.
SaharaReporters’ investigation revealed that the governors are Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State and Matawalle.
EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa had said the three serving governors were being monitored over their moves to launder stashed billions of naira through the payment of salaries to workers.
The development follows the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that it will redesign some naira notes.
“The three governors we are monitoring are Governors Wike, Matawalle and Kano’s Ganduje. Billions of naira stashed in their homes in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano have been discovered,” a top EFCC official had told SaharaReporters.
“These three state governors were caught trying to move these huge sums of notes kept in their residences after the CBN announced its decision to redesign the naira notes.
“They are in billions; that of Ganduje is purely kept in Kano but he has used some parts to pay for a hotel he’s building in Abuja. The hotel is at the back of the Nigerian Air Force Conference Centre.
“Zamfara governor, Matawalle kept his own in some houses he owns in Abuja while Wike has his own kept in Abuja and Port Harcourt.”
However, Matawalle in a press statement signed by the state information commissioner, Hon. Ibrahim Magaji Dosara said he had never paid its workers’ salaries through table payment and could not afford to do so at this time when his government had agreed to implement the national minimum wage of N30,000.
"Government will not take it lightly with anyone who tries to add salt to security injury inflicted on the good people of zamfara through tarnishing the good image of the Gov to be distracted from the efforts and successes being recorded in the fight against banditry in the state,” the statement read.
"The Gov has since the assumption in office about four years ago as the Executive Governor of the state, has been administering the state in the most responsible ways and manner, credibility, in spite of the enormous security challenges and meagre resources at the disposal of the government and cannot be allowed to turn subject of relegation and ridiculing in the eye of the public.
“Zamfara state government under Gov Bello Mohammed Matawalle has never paid its workers’ salary through table payment and cannot afford doing so at this material time when the government agreed to implement the national minimum wage of Thirty Thousand Naira (N30,000).
“Gov Matawalle has been committed to the wellbeing, welfare and the security of lives and property of the people of the state and will not allow enemies of the state to distract him from the good job he has been doing.
“Attached are copies of the legal documents tendered to the EFCC which are dully acknowledged by the agency for ease of reference, please.”