EFCC probes funds sources used in buying presidential forms

All presidential aspirants spending huge funds to buy their political party’s expression of interest forms have come under scrutiny over the sources of money used for the purchase, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has said.

The Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, said this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Friday night.

While the ruling All Progressives Congress sells its presidential forms for N100m, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party puts its at N41m.

About 23 high-profile politicians have so far obtained the APC forms while about 17 people have taken the PDP forms.

Bawa said the EFCC was working with the Independent National Electoral Commission to establish the sources of these funds.

He noted that N100m was a lot of money as most people might not see such huge funds in their lifetime.

He said, “Well, of course, it is quite some money. It could take a lifetime for you to save N40m or N100m but as you know, when it comes to the issue of monitoring of election funds and candidates’ funds, it is mainly the work of INEC but we are working hand-in-hand with INEC and other related agencies to ensure that we follow the money and know the source, whether it is legitimate or illegitimate. That is our concern.”

Bawa also said the commission was working to ensure that corrupt persons would not attain positions of leadership in the country.

He said the anti-graft agency was working behind the scenes to expose such unscrupulous elements.

He said, “We are concerned about good governance, transparency and accountability. We are also concerned about ensuring that corrupt elements are not given leadership positions in this country and that is why we are working behind the scenes to ensure that at least we make our position known on certain actors within the political space in this country.”