Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has accused the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, of demanding a $2 million bribe from him.
He made the allegation amid the growing rift between the governor and the anti-graft agency.
In a statement on Wednesday, Matawalle called for Bawa’s resignation, saying he had questions to answer on corruption.
But the EFCC Chairman responded that he had nothing to hide and asked Matawalle to petition the appropriate authorities if he had any evidence against him.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, Matawalle insisted that Bawa could not be trusted.
“It is not just to always blame governors. It is not only governors who have treasuries; the federal government also has one.
“What does the EFCC boss do to them? As he is claiming he has evidence on governors, let him show the world evidence of those at the federal level.
“If he exits the office, people will surely know he is not an honest person. I have evidence against him. Let him vacate the office.
“I am telling you that within 10 seconds, probably more than 200 people will bring evidence of bribes he collected from them. He knows what he requested from me, but I declined.
“He requested a bribe of $2 million from me, and I have evidence of this. He knows the house where we met; he invited me and told me the conditions.
“He told me governors were going to his office, but I did not. If I don’t have evidence, I won’t say this.”
Contacted for a reaction, Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the anti-graft agency, said he had not seen the story and could not respond.
When told it was on BBC Hausa where Matawalle spoke, he said he could not speak Hausa and asked that the story link be sent for a response, but he had not responded at the time of filing this report.
Daily Trust
