Alleged 100m Bribe: Zamfara governor reacts to arrest of Chinese contractors

The Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, has hailed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for arresting two Chinese nationals for allegedly offering N100 million as a bribe to its zonal head in Sokoto, Abdullahi Lawal.

The EFCC, on Monday, arrested Meng Kun and Xu Koi with cash it said they offered Mr Lawal in a bid to compromise ongoing investigations of a construction company, China Zhonghao Nig. Ltd, handling contracts awarded by the Zamfara State Government between 2012 and 2019.

The contracts were for the construction of township roads in Gummi, Bukkuyun, Anka and Nasarawa towns; and 168 solar-powered boreholes in 14 local government areas of the state.

Mr Matawalle, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Zailani Bappa, hailed the anti-graft agency for exposing the “contract scammers who tried to bribe their way to prevent investigations into the multi-billion naira contract fraud in the state.

“I want to specifically commend the leadership of Ibrahim Magu and his able Zonal Head in Sokoto, Alhaji Lawal Abdullahi, for moving this case to a significant stage by this arrest and further proving to the world our cries against the atrocities perpetrated by the immediate past administration in the state,” Mr Matawalle said.

“Sometimes back, I cancelled the unexecuted multi-billion naira contract awarded to this same Chinese company and called for the refund of the money. I still call on Mr President to assist the State Government to fast track the retrieval of this money and repatriate it back to the state so that we can actually provide the water and electricity to the rural areas,” Governor Matawalle said.

READ ALSO: Gov. Matawalle revokes land allocations on grazing reserves from 1999

“It is pertinent here to call on the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to further endorse his confidence on Mr Ibrahim Magu and his team as it is becoming obvious by the day that those calling for his removal actually have skeletons hiding in their wardrobes.

“This is indeed, similar to the calls for the removal of Service Chiefs where we discovered that those against them actually have cases to answer in terms of aiding and abetting banditry and other heinous crimes in our dear state.

“We have worked with these Service Chiefs and we have seen their excellent handiwork in genuine fight against banditry and other terror in our dear state. I call on President Muhammadu Buhari to equally further endorse his support and encouragement to all of them,” Governor Matawalle further said.