A former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr Olu Agunloye, has been declared wanted by the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraud.
The commission which posted the wanted declaration on its official Facebook page urged Nigerians who know the whereabouts of Agunloye to report to the nearest police station or inform the EFCC.
Tagged: “Olu Agunloye Is Wanted By The EFCC," the EFCC wrote: "Dr. U Agunloye is wanted by the EFCC. You know his whereabouts? Please don’t hesitate to inform the EFCC or the nearest Police Station.”
"The public is hereby notified that Olu Agunloye, whose photograph appears above is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in alleged case of Corruption and Forgery.”
SaharaReporters learnt that the anti-graft agency had invited Agunloye for questioning over his role in the $6 billion Mambila hydropower contract.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had accused Agunloye of mismanaging the power project during his tenure from 1999 to 2003 and failed to brief him on the state of the project.
In an interview, Obasanjo claimed that Agunloye fraudulently awarded the contract for the power project without the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Obasanjo challenged Agunloye to tell Nigerians where he derived the authority to award a $6 billion contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd in respect of the project in 2003.
In his response, Agunloye said the nature of the initial contract for the Mambilla Power Project was awarded as a Build, Operate and Transfer contract in May 2003 under his watch.
He said the government was not obliged to pay any money to Sunrise under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) agreement as it was to be fully funded by the newly registered company, whose declared assets were worth less than $2,000 at the time.
Agunloye was, however, silent on where and how he got authorization to commit the government to a $6 billion project when, according to Obasanjo, ministers could not approve more than N25 million when he was president.
Following the development, the EFCC arrested and questioned him over the controversy and a suspicious payment that was reportedly traced to his bank account.
The payment with the description “FRM LENO” was allegedly traced to his account after he committed the federal government to the disputed contract awarded to Sunrise Power Ltd, promoted by Leno Adesanya.
It was gathered that the EFCC discovered some transactions between Sunrise Power and government officials that it considers “inappropriate” and could have a material impact on the arbitration.
There was a transfer, according to reports that was allegedly made by a Sunrise Power official to Agunloye with the description “FRM LENO”, but Sunrise said it was a “cultural payment” to support the former minister’s medical expenses.
It was gathered that EFCC investigations revealed that Agunloye spent the money on shopping and transportation around Orlando, Florida, in the United States, and not on medical expenses as he claimed.
Also, further discovery of the bank transfers was said to have triggered another investigation.