2015 Elections Was Marred By Bribery Fraud: Deziani Bribed INEC Chiefs With N23.3b – Fidelty Bank Implicated As Conduit

Deziani Alison Madueke

The Nation has revealed that ex petroleum minister Deziani-Alison Madueke paid $115m (N23, 299,705,000billion) to INEC chiefs for results in the 2015 general elections.
The EFCC is now digging deep into the matter. Already two bankers have been detained in connection with the bribery scandal.

Also the son of the former minister, Ugonna is hunted by the anti-graft agency. Four companies implicated in the bribe-for-results scandal are also being probed. They are: Northern Belt Gas Company Limited; Auctus Integrated; Midwestern Oil and Gas; and Leno Laitan Adesanya.

The nation also revealed that the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Cross River State, Gesil Khan and four others are being quizzed by the EFCC over the N681million they allegedly received from the bribe money.

The other suspects are: Fidelia Omoile (Electoral Officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area of Delta State)—N112,480,000; Uluochi Obi Brown( INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Delta State)—N111,500,000; a former Deputy Director of INEC in Cross River State, Edem Okon Effanga—N241,127,000 and the Head of Voter Education in INEC in Akwa Ibom, Immaculata Asuquo—N214,127,000.

The EFCC scooped that the N23.29billion was shared to INEC officials in all the 36 states, some individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs), which deployed election monitors.

Fidelity Bank Managing Director Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo and the bank’s Head of Operations, Mr. Martin Izuogbe have been arrested by the EFCC in connection with the bribery.
The EFCC is currently putting down the names of all those who got money from Fidelity banks nationwide, as part of the illegal bribery scheme.

A source at the commission said: “We are looking at a case of conspiracy between Fidelity Bank and the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to bribe INEC officials to rig the 2015 presidential election nationwide. There was a time Diezani invited the MD of Fidelity Bank Nnamdi Okonkwo and told him that the owners of the four companies will come and drop some money and the MD should keep the money separately and await instructions on what to do.”

The EFCC has vowed to recover every kobo from the beneficiaries of the slush funds.