•Less than 30% work done, activist claims
Hearing of the fraud charges levelled against former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) continued yesterday at the Federal High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
EFCC insisted that Fayose diverted the money meant for a poultry project during his tenure.
Fayose was in the dock for several hours as activist-lawyer Morakinyo Ogele gave evidence against him before the court, which was presided over by Justice Adamu Hobon.
Ogele said the project believed to have cost about N1 billion, was abandoned, adding that not even 30 per cent of the work was executed.
Fayose was impeached on October 16, 2006, by the Ekiti House of Assembly after a report by the EFCC was adopted by the lawmakers, who found him “guilty of criminal diversion of funds meant for the project”.
Ogele, who wrote a petition dated December 13, 2004, to the EFCC in his capacity as the coordinator of the Ekiti Justice and Equity Movement (EJEM) on the alleged poultry scam, said N340 million was paid to the contractor by the government at the time of his petition, with no evidence that tax was deducted from the sum.
Fayose sat quietly in the dock as Ogele and his (Fayose’s) counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), engaged each other in a game of wits.
When Justice Hobon observed that the former governor was sweating, he told his police orderly to move the fan close to the dock.
The court clerk sent some of Fayose’s supporters out of the courtroom for making noise during the proceedings.
Ogele was led in evidence by EFCC counsel Adebisi Adeniyi before he was cross-examined by Raji.
Responding to questions from Raji, Ogele said he had nothing personal against Fayose, but wrote the petition because he was a stakeholder in Ekiti State.
He said he was invited by EFCC and wrote a statement, adding that he was interrogated by a team led by Mr. Abubakar Madaki.
Picking holes in the way the poultry contract was handled, Ogele said apart from the fact that no tax was deducted from the N340 million paid to Biological Concepts Nig. Ltd., the contractor, the project was not listed in the 2004 Appropriation Act.
When given a copy of ‘Exhibit A’, which was a copy of the Performance Bond dated September 24, 2004, Ogele said the document was not produced at the time he wrote the petition.
He objected to Raji’s claim that he (Ogele) was misled in writing the petition, adding that he was not prompted by anyone to write it.
Ogele said the poultry project site in his Ikere-Ekiti hometown was abandoned and was revived by the Benin-Owena River basin Development Authority based in the town.
When Raji asked why Ogele failed to praise Fayose for executing a “laudable project capable of employing many people”, the witness said: “I would have commended him (Fayose) if he had executed the project to benefit the people, but I cannot keep quiet in a situation where a contractor collected the project money and bolted. Performance Bond in Nigeria is a mere paper show. I rely on the content of my petition and deposition before this honourable court.”
Before Ogele was called into the witness box, the EFCC investigator had concluded the latter part of his evidence at the court.
The hearing continues today.
