EFCC accuses Bello of spending $720,000 state's fund on child's school fees

The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has accused the former Kogi state Governor, Yahaya Bello, of withdrawing $720,000 from state's account to pay for his child's school fees in advance.

Olukoyede disclosed this during a press briefing on Tuesday, April 23.

"A certain governor, because he knows he is going, moved money directly from the government to Bureau de Change and used it to pay the child's school fees in advance.

"In dollars. over $720,000 in advance, in anticipation that he was going to leave the government house, in a poor state like Kogi.

Olukoyede insisted EFCC's case against Bello is not a case of witch-hunting, noting that the commission's investigation of the former Kofi governor predates his appointment.

"I assumed office here, I didn't initiate the case, I inherited the case file, I called for the case file, I called for the report, and I said look there are issues here," Olukoyede said.

"I put a call across to him which ordinarily am not supposed to do, just to honour him as an immediate past governor, but he said 'Can't they come to my village?"

Bello's media officer Michael Ohiare said in a statement earlier on Tuesday that the EFCC never invited the former Kogi governor for questioning.

"We challenge the EFCC to produce a copy of this invitation, including the delivery date and the recipient's name/endorsement. We are confident they cannot provide this simple evidence," he said.