| Saraki in the duck |
The Federal Government,
yesterday, told the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja, how the
Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, collected salaries as the governor of
Kwara State for four years after his tenure had elapsed. However, Kwara State
government, in a swift reaction, denied paying the former governor salary after
he left office in May 2011.
Furthermore, Abdulwahab Isa, the
Director-General of Abubakar Bukola Saraki Constituency Office, otherwise known
as Mandate, said the Senate President does not have access to his pension
account, which is dedicated to helping students across the state.
At the CCT sitting yesterday, a
star prosecution witness, Mr. Michael Wetkass, who is a Detective
Superintendent with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, told
the tribunal that investigation revealed that, whereas Saraki’s tenure as
governor of the state ended on May 29, 2011, he only stopped collecting salary
on August 31, 2015.
Wetkass was the head of a
three-man crack team that investigated six separate petitions that culminated
in the 13-count criminal charge the Senate President is facing before CCT. The
charge preferred against Saraki by Federal Government borders on
false/anticipatory declaration of assets, operation of foreign bank accounts
while in office as governor and allegation that he acquired wealth beyond his
legitimate earnings.
At the resumed sitting
yesterday, the witness told the tribunal that as at September 16, 2015, when
the Access Bank Plc account Saraki used for his governorship salary and pension
was closed, it had a debit balance of N599, 091.63, and that the account had a
balance of N52, 372,417 as at June 3, 2015.