EFCC PETITION: YAYI ACCUSED OF ALLEGED ₦1.8TRN BUDGET MANIPULATION

Petition alleges diversion of agency budget lines, phantom companies, duplicate projects

A fresh petition before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has accused Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, of allegedly manipulating more than ₦1.8 trillion in federal budget allocations between 2023 and 2026.

The petition, a copy of which was made available to Apples Bite International Magazine, calls for an investigation into Adeola, who represents Ogun West in the Senate and chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriation.
According to the petitioners, the alleged allocations far exceed the approximately ₦2 billion Zonal Intervention Project envelope they claim is ordinarily available to an individual senator.
The petition alleges that budget lines belonging to federal agencies were allegedly repurposed to finance projects and programmes associated with the senator, including township roads, tricycle distribution and various empowerment schemes.
Among the agencies named in the petition are the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research, National Horticultural Research Institute, Sheda Science and Technology Complex and Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.
The petitioners contend that projects allegedly inserted through the agencies had little or no connection with their statutory responsibilities.

The document reportedly identifies allocations running into tens of billions of naira across at least 18 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) between 2023 and 2026.
One of the agencies mentioned is the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, which the petition claims received more than ₦57 billion across three fiscal years in allocations allegedly linked to the senator’s influence.
The petitioners are demanding that the relevant agencies account for how the funds were appropriated and spent.

Another major allegation in the petition concerns a network of companies the petitioners claim may have been used as fronts for the movement of public funds.
The companies named include Cinedox Solution Limited, Akgen Solution Ltd, Latdok Integrated Services and Volatix Products Ltd, among others.
According to the petition, several of the companies were allegedly registered within days of one another in December 2019 and reportedly shared addresses around Abuja’s Area 11 and Asokoro districts.
The petition further raises questions about an individual identified as John Augustine Abah, whom the petitioners allege may have been used as a corporate identity through which public contracts were obtained.
The petitioners are asking the EFCC to establish the person’s true identity, ownership interests and relationship, if any, with the companies and contracts cited in the petition.

The petition also alleges that more than ₦200 billion in allocations allegedly connected to Yayi were captured under broad descriptions such as “Provision of Infrastructure in Ogun State.”
The petitioners argue that such descriptions could make it difficult to establish the precise location, scope and status of projects funded with the allocations.
They further allege that approximately ₦50 billion in medical-supply allocations for Ogun West appeared more than once in the budgets of different agencies in the same year.
Another allegation is that some projects were repeatedly classified as “ongoing”, which the petitioners claim enabled continued funding without clear evidence of completion.

The petition also alleges that constituency-style projects linked to Adeola’s appropriation influence appeared in locations outside Ogun West, including parts of Lagos, Rivers State and northern Nigeria.
The petitioners are asking the EFCC to determine the legal and administrative basis for the alleged projects and establish who nominated, approved and implemented them.

In their prayers, the petitioners are asking the EFCC to:
• Investigate Senator Solomon Adeola and the allegations contained in the petition;
• Conduct a forensic audit of the named MDAs and the disputed budget allocations;
• Investigate John Augustine Abah and the companies named in the petition;
• Conduct physical verification of the projects listed;
• Trace the movement of funds connected to the alleged transactions; and
• Take appropriate steps to recover any public funds found to have been misappropriated.
The allegations contained in the petition have not been established by a court of law.
As of the time of publication, Senator Solomon Adeola had not publicly responded to the allegations contained in the petition, while the EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had not publicly confirmed that a formal investigation had commenced.
The Press Nigeria will continue to monitor the matter and publish any response from Senator Adeola, the EFCC, ICPC or the affected government agencies.