EFCC Arrests INEC Commissioner, Mr.Sylvester Ezeani Over Ex-Minister’s Alleged N23Bn Bribe

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Abia State, Mr.Sylvester Ezeani, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over corruption allegations.

He allegedly benefited from the N23bn ($115m) disbursed by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, during the build-up to the 2015 presidential election.

The EFCC alleged that the accused received N20 million while he was the REC in Cross River State during the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Ezeani was detained having failed to explain why he collected the N20 million, report said.

“The REC was on Tuesday interrogated by operatives of the EFCC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in connection with an alleged N20million electoral scam,” Punch quoted an EFCC operative to have said.

“While serving in Cross River State, he was alleged to have collected the sum of N20m out of the entire N241,000,000 which was released to Cross River State from the controversial $115million lodged with Fidelity Bank Plc, by Diezani. Ezeani, who has now been redeployed in Abia State, was quizzed over his involvement in the scam. He is still in custody.”

Pulse recalls that the anti-graft Commission had made multiplearrests in connection to the Diezani largesse, including anExecutive Director in charge of Public Affairs at the First Bank of Nigeria, Dauda Lawal.

He allegedly helped Alison-Madueke launder about $55 million, but he was said to have confessed to only laundering $25 million for the ex-oil minister.