EFCC Arrests Former Speaker, Etteh Over Alleged Contract Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Patricia Etteh.

It was gathered last night that Etteh was being grilled by EFCC’s special duties unit over allegations of her involvement in solar power electrification scam in Akwa Ibom State.

According to EFCC top sources, “she was arrested over a Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contract in 2011. The contract was a rural solar electrification project for some communities in Akwa Ibom. The contract was awarded to a company called Philjim Projects Limited.

“The contract sum was N240 million awarded by NDDC as part of its community development project. An initial sum of N34 million was made and curiously, another sum of N253 million, raising the paid sum to N287 million.

“Our concern in this matter is that Etteh is neither a director nor the contractor, but our investigation revealed that she was paid a total amount of N130 million by the contractor.

“When our investigators confronted her with these payments, she said it was a refund of a loan she gave to the contractor handling the project.

“When you look at the disbursement, the contractor was too liquid to look for a loan from a third party. There is clearly a fraudulent transaction and the company might be fronting for her,” the source disclosed.

Source: Guardian