‘EFCC Chairman, Bawa Demanded $2m Bribe From Me’ –Governor Matawalle

Zamfara State Governor,  Bello Mattewale has publicly accused Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), of requesting a $2 million bribe.

This claim comes amidst a growing conflict between the governor and the anti-corruption agency.

Governor Matawalle in a statement released on Wednesday called for Bawa’s resignation, asserting that the EFCC Chairman should face scrutiny over corruption allegations.

Bawa, however, rebutted these accusations, stating that he has nothing to conceal and encouraging the governor to petition relevant authorities if he possesses any incriminating evidence.

Meanwhile, Matawalle, in a BBC Hausa interview, voiced his distrust of Bawa and questioned the EFCC’s selective scrutiny, saying, “It is not just to always blame governors. It is not only governors who have treasury, the federal government also has. What does the EFCC boss do to them? As he is claiming he has evidence on governors, let him show the world evidence of those at the federal level.

“If he exits office, people will surely know he is not an honest person. I have evidence against him. Let him vacate the office, I am telling you within 10 seconds probably more than 200 people will bring evidence of the bribe he collected from them. He knows what he requested from me but I declined.

“He requested a bribe of $2 million from me and I have evidence of this. He knows the house we met, he invited me and told me the conditions. He told me governors were going to his office but I did not. If I don’t have evidence, I won’t say this.”