NIGERIAN GOVERNORS AND THEIR VARIOUS SECRET BANK ACCOUNTS

The Code of Conduct Bureau on Thursday in Abuja revealed that some public servants particularly ex-governors, legislators and ministers operated foreign accounts using pseudonyms and left hands to append their signatures.

It also stated that the bureau !would investigate the dramatic disappearance of the names of some big politicians which had been sent to the Code of Conduct Tribunal with a view to wielding the big stick on those involved in the complicity.

The Chairman of the CCB, Mr. Sam Saba, who spoke with journalists in Abuja said the case file of a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had been transferred to the CCT.

He regretted that only very few ex-governors agreed that they have foreign accounts in Europe and other parts of the world.

Saba said, “Only a few of them are honest that they have foreign accounts. They close it and inform us that they actually operate it. But a lot of them operate foreign accounts using different names. But we don’t have capacity for proof.

“Before my assumption of office, I went to a minister who introduced me to his friend staying abroad and during our discussion, she revealed that many legislators in Nigeria operate foreign accounts. I didn’t know I was coming back to the CCB as chairman, I would have taken her contact and she would have been useful to us.

“She told me that many of them use the names of their wives and other pseudonyms to operate the accounts and append signatures using their left hands. Interestingly, according to her, they do this without the knowledge of their spouses. I believe that there are many public officials in Nigeria operating foreign accounts.”

The CCB boss noted that henceforth the organisation will avoid the disappearance of some names which had been transferred to the CCT for prosecution.

He said, “Some names go to the tribunal and some people are able to get their names out. It is either there is a collaboration between our office, the tribunal and the big names. But this time, all the leakages will be blocked and we are going to investigate it.”

Speaking on the case file of ex-Governor Tinubu, he said, “Why are you people (media) so specific about Tinubu all the time? You people are very particular about Tinubu all the time. As far as I know up till this time that we are talking, his case file is with the Code of Conduct Tribunal.”