Date Published: 09/05/11

N7b fraud allegation: EFCC Grills Lagos Speaker, Ikuforiji

The Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, was earlier today questioned by the Economic and Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a petition involving a sum of ₦7 billion in a fraud and other sundry cases, the commission’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, has said.

According to Mr Babafemi, the commission was acting on a petition written by a certain group accusing the speaker of financial malpractices committed in his official capacity. He, however, added that despite the fact that he was still with them, the commission had not concluded any investigation to warrant any claim of arrest or that he would be charged to court.

“He is still with us and he was only invited to answer questions related to the allegations made against him as contained in a petition. So, we are just doing our work and he is still with us,” Mr Babafemi said in a telephone interview

But   the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Mr. Rotimi Adebayo, y debunked reports that he (Ikuforiji)  was arrested by the EFCC.

He said in a statement that contrary to reports and insinuations, the Speaker went to the EFCC office, Abuja, on his own volition.
The statement reads: “ It has come to our knowledge that there are rumours over the alleged arrest and detention of the Hon. Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) office in Abuja on Friday, September 2, 2011.

“In the face of the above, we hereby state as follows:
“ That the Speaker was neither arrested nor detained by the operatives of the EFFC.   
“That the Speaker, however, on his own volition, decided to formally honour the EFFC's earlier invitation sent to his office when he was away to the Lesser Hajj.

“That the Speaker only just returned to the country from Umrah on Wednesday night of 31st August, 2011 and he immediately scheduled a date with the EFCC operatives to honour their invitation.

A news report had earlier claimed that a petition was sent to the EFCC on May 19, 2011, requesting for a probe into the use of the sum totalling over ₦7 billion that Mr Ikuforiji collected as running costs for the Lagos Assembly in just 12 months.

The petitioners, under the aegis of a civil rights group, Kick Against Corruption, claimed in a copy made available to the media then that the money had been laundered abroad through an automobile company.

The petition which was signed by a lawyer, Olawale Williams, also claimed that the Speaker collected ₦500 million monthly as running costs for the House.

A copy of the petition states that “the initial monthly running costs of the House in 1999 was put at ₦20 million and later jerked up to ₦40 million before the end of the Bola Tinubu administration. This amount the Babatunde Fashola regime also increased to ₦60 million. The cost had, however, been moved up to ₦500 million monthly in 2010 by the House of Assembly.

“This was passed into law and made a first line charge so that the amount can be deducted directly from the state revenue account without any recourse to the executive and has been collecting this huge sum without any corresponding impact on the lives of members or their duties.”