N27bn fraud: EFCC quizzes PDP Senator

The immediate past Governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji, is currently being interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Orji, who represents Abia-Central senatorial district at the National Assembly, was invited over allegations that he mismanaged about N27bn.

National Daily gathered that the invitation was sequel to a series of petitions written against the former governor shortly after he left office in 2015. Among the allegations levelled against the former governor was that he diverted billions of naira disbursed to Abia State by the Central Bank of Nigeria for Small and Medium Enterprise.

The lawmaker was also alleged to have diverted money from the Ecological Fund account, which should have been used in tackling erosion and other disasters peculiar to the state.

The ex-governor allegedly diverted money from the Abia State Oil Producing Development Area Commission, an agency of government set up for the development of the oil producing areas in Abia State

Orji allegedly used the funds to buy properties in Abia, Port Harcourt and Abuja, some of which the EFCC is planning to seize.

It was learnt that officials from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria, commercial banks and other agencies had been invited by the EFCC to make statements on the governor’s case.

Recall that Orji was governor of Abia state from 2007 to 2015.