Abuja businessman arrested again over N500m fraud by EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), according to former governor of Adamawa State Bala Ngilari, falsely accused him of corruption.
In a recent appearance on Trust TV’s Daily Politics program, Ngilari reportedly said this, according to reports.
Ngilari, who governed Adamawa between October 2014 and May 2015, was the first victim of the court ruling since the return of democracy in 1999.
He was sentenced to five years in prison without the possibility of a fine after being found guilty of corruption involving N166 million in the awarding of a contract for the purchase of 25 vehicles. He had also violated the Public Procurement Act.
The former governor continued by saying that he gathered so many enemies because of his honesty and righteousness, which resulted in his conviction.
Ngilari continued by saying that if he personally saw and owned N1 billion, he would pass out.
He responded, “If I see N1bn now, I will faint,” when asked if he had “like N1bn of your own.”
In fact, the good news is that amassing so many enemies is the biggest challenge for someone trying to live an honest and upright life. There is not one count in the five that says I took or diverted one naira, not one, until tomorrow, I say it firmly and without fear or favor. This is according to the court proceedings that led to my arraignment on a five-count charge.
Ngilari added that he wanted to run for senator the following election year after losing the governorship seat but was unable to do so because the party delegates wanted N1m each.
He said: “In fact, I tried to contest for the Senate too under APC. I went round, toured and two, three days to the primary election, I called and reached out to the delegates through my director general and my coordinators.
“The delegates told me, ‘Look, sir, when it comes to the right person to go for this thing, you are the right person, but honestly, we will be sincere and honest with you we cannot accept N100,000 which you want to offer us.’
“To help. My idea was that I could offer N100,000 for probably 200 people. That would come to about N20 million so that they could go and start something at home.
“I mean, N100,000 at that time was something. (But) they said, ‘No, sir, we will not collect your N100,000 because there are people who are willing to give us one N1 million each.’”
Peoplesmind
