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How Alao-Akala looted over N1bn in 11 months – EFCC

By Musikilu Mojeed, Mudiaga Affe and Olalekan Adetayo

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has alleged that Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala used two book publishing companies and another firm to plunder over N1bn belonging to the state between January and December 2006.

File Governor Alao Akala

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It also accused him of abusing his office during the 11 months he first spent as governor of the state.

Alao-Akala, a former deputy governor of the state, took over from Alhaji Rahidi Ladoja, who was removed as governor in a controversial circumstance by the State House of Assembly. But in April 2007, he contested and won the governorship election in the state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The EFCC said in an interim report of an investigation into a petition by one Mr. Kunle Jimoh and Mr. Julius Dada that Alao-Akala routinely inflated contracts with a view to enriching himself during the 11 month period.

In the report, which was exclusively obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday, the commission said that the governor “conspired” with an Ibadan-based book publishing firm and another company to perpetrate fraud amounting to more than a billion naira.

The anti-graft agency said it found out that N631m contract Alao-Akala awarded to the publishing firm for the supply of textbooks to the state government was inflated to the tune of N488m.

Another contract for the supply of textbooks awarded to the same company for N631m was also reportedly inflated by N395m.

The EFCC also said that it suspected that another contract awarded to another book publishing firm, whose headquarters is said to be in Ibadan, for N39.7m, was inflated.

The commission added that one of the publishing firms refunded N10m of the money it was overpaid while the other returned N12m.

In the report, the anti-graft body also accused the governor of paying out N190m to 19 members of the then state House of Assembly for constituency projects.

It said that cheques for the projects should not have been written in the names of the lawmakers.

The commission also queried the contract for the computerisation of personnel payroll and identity cards production for the state which Alao-Akala awarded at a cost of N182. 7m.

It said that N143.9m out of the total contract sum had already been paid.

The report added that a comprehensive probe of “another company used by the Akala government to inflate contracts” was in progress.

It said, “From the foregoing, it is clear that Otunba Alao-Akala abused his office to enrich himself contrary to his oath of office.

“He has acted contrary to the provisions of the constitution and betrayed public trust. In light of the above, therefore, it is pertinent that he has a case to answer.”

The governor cannot, however, be tried in court until the expiration of his tenure because he is covered by constitutional immunity.

When contacted on telephone on Sunday, the governor’s Special Adviser on Public Communications, Mr. Dotun Oyelade, said Alao-Akala could only make a meaningful comment on the report when a copy reached him.

Oyelade said, “We seek to see the report because there are so many fake documents flying in an out of the newsroom these days.

“It is only when we see a copy of the said report that we can make any meaningful comment.

“We seek the veracity of the so-called indicting document. We affirm that it is another hoax strung up to exhume a dead issue.”

In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said that the commission would not leave any case untouched in its efforts at bringing corrupt public officials to book.

Babafemi said that the present leadership of the commission was interested in all high-profile cases.

This, he explained, was why the commission would want to deal with such cases now so that it could treat others it had received intelligence reports on.

He said, “Ibadan is part of the Lagos/South West zone. There is a committee working on the backlog of cases now and no stone would be left unturned.

“About 70 per cent of the cases are in Lagos and the Alao-Akala case, of which I do not know its current status, may be part of the Lagos cases.

“If it is among the cases, she (the EFCC chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri) will likely be briefed about it this week because the Lagos/South West zone is the next region for her to deal with.

“The Director of Operations (of EFCC) is already in Lagos preparatory to her arrival in Lagos this week.

“Since she resumed, she has been dealing with the backlog on regional basis and there are six zones in the country that she will have to deal with.”

Ladoja had, after his reinstatement, set up an Administrative Panel of Inquiry in March 2007 to probe the Alao-Akala administration.

The panel said Alao-Akala failed to protect public funds as expected from him during the 11 months he served as governor.

The Ladoja dministration in a White Paper published as Oyo State Notice No. 7 in Gazette No. 05 of March 22, 2007 accepted the recommendation of the panel indicting Alao-Akala.

But less than two months after he assumed office on May 19, 2007, Alao-Akala got the state House of Assembly to quash the indictment.