The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) on Tuesday through one of its detectives, Musa Sunday, told a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gudu how the former Governor of Plateau State and now serving senator, Joshua Dariye allegedly shared N1.162bn belonging to the state. Dariye, who served between 1999 and 2007, is being prosecuted for allegedly diverting Plateau State’s ecological funds while in office as governor.
While being cross-examined by Dariye’s lawyer, Garba Pwul (SAN) on Tuesday, Sunday gave a breakdown of how Dariye allegedly disbursed the N1.16bn to his political associates and officials of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, in Plateau State. According to him, “The Ecological Fund Office is under the Presidency but the Office of the Vice-President oversees it and the vice-president chairs the agency’s activities. The vice-president at that time was Alhaji Abubakar Atiku.
“N100m was traced to the South-West PDP, which was received by then Minister of Special Duties, Yomi Edu, N80m to then Permanent Secretary of the Ecological Fund Office in the Presidency, Kingsley Nkoma; N10m to a former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, N6.8m to the PDP Plateau State and N66m to 274 PDP wards in the state. In the course of investigation, Marine Float was found to be a company owned by the former Vice-President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. As at when the money was paid, the Vice- President was the Chairman of Ecological Fund Office”.
