How Perm Sec Spent N1.5bn PHCN Fund To Buy Vehicles For Jonathan Campaign
Editor
Posted On Dec 31, 2016
The identity of a former Permanent Secretary who was discovered to have made away with SUVs, other vehicles and motorcycles have been revealed.
The EFCC was said to have intercepted the vehicles and motorcycles after an alarm was raised by an artisan.
The artisan, who had gone to do some maintenance work at Igali’s Abuja residence was said to have been surprised by the number of vehicles in the retired civil servant’s residence and quickly alerted the EFCC.
The detective said, “He (Igali) had allegedly secured the 47 vehicles in well guarded premises in an upscale neighbourhood of Abuja but he ran out of luck when an artisan who had come to fix a faulty utility got curious by the avalanche of state-of –the-art vehicles parked on the premises and tipped off the EFCC.
“The commission immediately commenced discreet investigation. In the course of investigation, it discovered that all the vehicles were supplied by Dilly Motors at the instance of Igali.”
Investigators, however, discovered that the money used in buying the vehicles did not emanate from Igali’s bank account but from Baseworth Insurance Brokers Limited, a company that was under investigation in another case of an alleged diversion of N27bn insurance premium of deceased staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
However, when representatives of Dilly Motors were invited, they told operatives of the EFCC in their statement that the payments were made by Baseworth Insurance Brokers Limited on behalf of the permanent secretary.
The EFCC source added, “It was initially difficult to determine the source of the funds with which the vehicles were purchased as it did not come directly from Igali’s account but a breakthrough came as the commission stumbled on evidence of a curious payment To Dilly Motors from the account of Baseworth Insurance Brokers Limited, a company that was under investigation in another case of alleged diversion of N27bn insurance premium of deceased staff of the PHCN.
“In one of the transfers, N300m was paid to Dilly Motors from the account of Baseworth Insurance Brokers. Operatives of the commission were curious to determine the service which Dilly Motors rendered to Baseworth Insurance Brokers to warrant payment. Dilly Motors on interrogation allegedly admitted that the N300m was part of the N1.5bn paid by Igali for the purchase of vehicles for the Goodluck/Sambo Campaign organisation to prosecute the 2015 general election.”
It was learnt that the permanent secretary had been released on administrative bail and may be charged to court soon.
