SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, (THEWILL) – Immediate past Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku has said that he is ready to assist the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in its bid to probe the accounts of the agency under his leadership.
Kuku, who spoke from the United States of America where he is undergoing a medical procedure, said that the allegations of conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and diversion of public funds being made against him did not arise, as the records of his administration were clear and available for scrutiny.
“I’m currently in the U.S. for an urgent surgery on my knee and will certainly return to honour the EFCC invitation once I recuperate in September.
“The record of my stewardship under the Presidential Amnesty Programme is an open document and it is available for scrutiny since I have nothing to hide about what we did,” Kuku said on the phone.
The former presidential aide was responding to an invitation by the EFCC, directing him to report to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja for questioning on July 28, 2015 by one of its operatives named, Chris Owobu, over allegation of diverting public funds running into hundreds of millions of Naira.
The EFCC letter with ref: CR 3000/EFCC/ABJ/EG/T7/vol.25/263 and dated July 22, was signed by the Head of Economic Governance, Olufunke Adetayo Ogunbode and was sent and received by the Presidential Amnesty Office in Maitama same day.
In it, the EFCC said: “The commission is conducting an inquiry into a case of conspiracy, stealing, diversion of public funds and abuse of public office involving you.
“In view of the above, you are kindly expected to be interviewed by the undersigned through Chris Owobu and Tuesday July 28, 2015 at No 5 Formella Street, off Adetokumbo Ademola Crescent Wuse 2, Abuja at 10 am.
“Kindly accept the assurances of the Executive Chairman’s best wishes and highest regards, please,” the invitation letter said.
But Kuku wrote back to the EFCC that he was indisposed to appear before the commission on the 28th since he was scheduled for an operation on July 30th at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Centre, United States.
The Presidency had earlier said it would conduct an investigation into the corruption riddled amnesty program, saying it would be wrong to continue with it without scrutinizing it.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, reiterated this on Kaakaki, a breakfast programme on Africa Independent Television (AIT) in Abuja, Friday.
“Don’t also forget that if a situation or process was riddled with corruption and you come saying you are going to clean up the system, and then you continue to just run on the same steam of what you met on ground then you have not changed anything.
“There are a lot of issues about it and the President is studying those issues. After he has finished studying them, the package will be unfolded on amnesty,” the spokesman said.
Adesina said the nonpayment of tuition fees for 13 pilots undergoing training at the Lufthansa airline school in Frankfurt, Germany, was unfortunate, adding that the situation will be sorted out soon.
