Olu Agunloye, a former minister of power and steel, has been listed as sought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) due to suspected fraud.
The commission asked Nigerians who know Agunloye’s whereabouts to report to the closest police station or contact the EFCC on its verified Facebook page.
“The EFCC is seeking Dr. U Agunloye,” the agency declared. Do you know where he’s been? Do not hesitate to notify the closest Police Station or the EFCC.
Agunloye has been invited by the EFCC to be questioned for his involvement in the $6 billion Mambila hydropower contract.
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president, accused Agunloye of mismanaging the power project from 1999 to 2003 and neglected to provide him with an update on the project’s status.
Obasanjo asserted in an interview that Agunloye had fraudulently awarded the power project contract without the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) consent.
In 2003, Obasanjo issued a challenge to Agunloye, asking him to explain to the Nigerian people from whence he obtained the power to grant Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd a $6 billion contract for the project.
Agunloye responded by stating that he oversaw the awarding of the Build, Operate, and Transfer contract for the Mambilla Power Project in May 2003.
According to him, Sunrise was to be fully funded by the recently registered firm, whose stated assets were valued at less than $2,000 at the time, therefore the government was not required to pay a kobo under the terms of the build, operate, and transfer (BOT) deal.
But when it came to where and how he obtained approval to commit the government to a $6 billion project—ministers, as President Obasanjo claimed, could not authorize more than N25 million—Agunloye remained mute.
The former minister was questioned by the EFCC on the incident and an allegedly strange payment that was linked to his bank account.
After he allegedly committed the federal government to the contested contract awarded to Sunrise Power Ltd., sponsored by Leno Adesanya, the money with the description “FRM LENO” was purportedly tracked to his account.
Rumor has it that Sunrise Power and government officials engaged in a number of transactions that the EFCC deems “inappropriate” and may materially affect the arbitration.
Reports state that a Sunrise Power representative transferred money to Agunloye under the name “FRM LENO.” Sunrise Power denied any involvement, claiming the money was a “cultural payment” meant to cover the former minister’s medical costs.
Nevertheless, an additional examination conducted by the EFCC seemed to indicate that Agunloye did not use the funds for medical bills, but rather for shopping and travel in Orlando, Florida, in the United States.
It was said that the revelation of the bank transfers set off an additional inquiry that began in the 2000s.
(The Guardian)