EFCC Battles Delta State Senator Over Diversion of N1.2bn NEXIM Bank Loan, 1.5bn Contract Fraud

There are indications that Senator Peter Nwaoboshi representing Delta North constituency at the National Assembly has been having a running battle with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the alleged diversion of a N1.2 billion loan from the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM).

The senator is accused of diverting the loan which was granted for the purchase of electrical equipment to his personal use and repaying only about N150 million three years after taking the loan.
Senator Nwaoboshi who has been summoned by the EFCC for interrogation through the Clerk to the National Assembly, is also being probed for his involvement in an alleged N1.58bn contract fraud.

The senator allegedly signed the N1.58bn contract for the supply of some new construction equipment and trucks to the Delta State Direct Labour Agency in 2010. Documents released by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) however reportedly showed that fairly used trucks were supplied.

Asides the alleged diversion of the NEXIM Bank loan and the contract fraud, the EFCC is also said to be planning to prosecute Senator Nwaoboshi for alleged abuse of office in securing the N1.2bn loan as he was sitting on the Board of Directors of NEXIM Bank at the time the loan was granted.

An EFCC document said: “The loan, which was approved for the senator when he was a member of the bank’s board of directors, was meant for the purchase of equipment and electrical materials but the senator allegedly diverted part of the funds to acquire properties in Lagos.

“Criminal diversion is a serious offence and NEXIM may have to report him to the Central Bank of Nigeria. As a director of the bank, the circumstance of the award of the loan is one that raises fundamental conflict of interest and corporate governance issues.”

The EFCC in April secured a court order for the forfeiture of a 12-storey building belonging to the senator over an alleged contract scam of N1.5bn but the senator has filed two actions before a court in Lagos and a Federal High Court in Asaba, asking that the interim forfeiture order be vacated.

According to The Nation, the Federal High Court Asaba refused the ex-parte application while further hearing is slated for October 3, 4 and 5, 2017.

Besides the cases mentioned above, Senator Nwaoboshi has also been accused of forging assets declaration documents before the Code of Conduct Bureau, where he concealed 46 different accounts to which he was a signatory.

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