Home FEATURES Corruption Cover Up: Rejected Presidential Nominee, Maimuna Aliyu Indicts ICPC, Aso Bank

Corruption Cover Up: Rejected Presidential Nominee, Maimuna Aliyu Indicts ICPC, Aso Bank

Maimuna Aliyu
Maimuna Aliyu

Maimuna Aliyu, the rejected Presidential nominee to the board of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), has indicted the Commission and her former employer, Aso Savings and Loans Plc of covering up a high level of corruption in the bank which she exposed long before she was nominated for the ICPC Boad.

In a petition to the ICPC acting chairman, copy which is in the possession of the Greenbarge Reporters, Maimuna Aliyu accused Aso Savings and Loans Plc of flagrantly violating the provision of both Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act and the Central Bank of Nigerian Act, through “their recklessness in loans creation and administration.

“The Board and Management of the said institution granted unsecured loans to friends, family and politically expose persons; a practice which I protested about as officer in charge of marketing at the time.”

The petition, which was written by Maimuna Aliyu’s lawyer, Chuks Okonkwo in regard to the seizure of her houses at Sungold Estate and Galadimawa District in Abuja, said: “we are aware that our client (Maimuna Aliyu) had petitioned your Commission on the corrupt practices of the board and management of her former employers.

“But we find it curious (that) rather than investigate these gross and naked acts of corruption, the Commission elected to becoming a debt recovery agent for the Mortgage bank.”

The petitioner said it is unfortunate that ICPC allowed itself to be reduced to an errand Commission to do the will and wish of some unscrupulous persons within the Commission “working for their pay masters, who are trying to cover their well established corruption practices.”

Advising the acting chairman of the ICPC to restrain from further steps that might continue to embarrass the Commission, Maimuna Aliyu, through her lawyer, asked the acting chairman to consider the facts and figures that are contained in her petition with a view to redressing the injustice done to her.

“Acting Chairman Sir, we had written to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice on the unfortunate activities of officers and men of your commission, particularly staff of the Chairman’s office. A copy of the said letter was sent to you and it must be the same goons in the Chairman’s office that are at work with the aim of deceiving and misdirecting you to reach an erroneous and malicious conclusion in the matter concerning our client and her former employers.

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“Any right thinking and honest Nigerian would want to know how Aso Savings acquired the lands under investigation. It would be thorough to check for compliance with Enterprise wide Risk Management policies, and insider related credit transactions. It does not just end at singling out our client for purpose of helping her traducers achieve their aims.”

The petitioner further referred the ICPC acting chairman to relevant provisions of the sections under which her properties were seized, adding: “it is obvious from the provisions of the section of the Act, particularly  the areas emphasizing that the Acting Chairman, with due respect, may have been misdirected.”

It would be recalled that on August 1 this year, Maimuna Aliyu who was Executive Director of Aso Savings and Loans Plc, was announced as a nominee to the ICPC board, as part of 36 appointments made by Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who was then Acting President.

An investigative report, dated May 31, 2017, and signed by Taiwo Oyewale, a Superintendent of Police, for the Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGP Monitoring Unit, came up with a report that Maimuna Aliyu illegally converted to personal use a total of N58 million being proceeds of three plots of land belonging to her employers, Aso Savings and Loans.

Professor Osinbajo subsequently “stepped down” the nomination of Maimuna Aliyu.

Maimuna Aliyu reacted mmediately then by saying that allegations of corruption against her were false and that they were being orchestrated by corrupt persons she exposed while serving as a director at the Aso Savings and Loans.