ABUJA—The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is closing in on Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and his brother, Augustine Nwaoboshi, after stumbling on vital information on how the two men supplied used equipment in place of new ones to Delta State government and went away with N2.1 billion.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senator is reported to have, thereafter, used the proceeds of the procurement contract fraud to acquire several property in Lagos and Delta states using his companies as fronts for the acquisition.
Findings revealed that the anti-graft agency had concluded moves to summon the two brothers for questioning any moment from now over their roles in the contract scam.
The revelation came barely two days after Nwaoboshi raised a point of order on the floor of the Senate that the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, had been terrorising senators since he was not confirmed and asked that he should be removed from the agency with immediate effect.
A top source in EFCC revealed that Nwaoboshi, who represents Delta North in the Senate, used his company, Bilderberg Enterprises Limited, to secure contracts worth N2.1 billion to supply new equipment to two agencies of Delta State government but defrauded the state in the execution of the contract by importing and supplying used equipment which he passed off as new.
The source said: “The Delta State Government awarded contracts to the suspect’s company, Bilderberg Enterprises Limited, in the sum of N1,580,000,000 and N474,936,000 to supply new construction and waste management equipment to the Delta State Direct Labour Agency and Delta State Waste Management Board respectively.
The company supplied used equipment contrary to the Bill of Quantity. Property in Lagos, Delta “The senator also laundered the proceeds of alleged criminal activity to acquire property in Delta State and Lagos.
Among the property acquired from proceeds of the fraud is a 12-storey building at Apapa in Lagos belonging to Delta State government which Nwaoboshi bought for N805,000,000. “The property was acquired through one of his companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Limited.
The suspect also allegedly bought a warehouse at Apapa Wharf, Lagos for N800, 000,000.”
BVN linked to 23 other undeclared bank accounts
The anti-graft agency said it found a more ‘startling finding’ against Nwaoboshi, saying his Bank Verification Number, BVN, is linked to 23 other bank accounts which he did not disclose in his assets declaration record with the Code of Conduct Bureau as well as the fact that his younger brother, Augustine Nwaoboshi, is the sole signatory to some of the accounts.
”We will charge the two brothers to court as soon as we conclude interrogating them because this is a clear case of money laundering,” one of the sources at the agency said.
Source – Vanguard
