INEC Commissioner, Reps Member arrested by EFCC

Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC Commissioner in Abia State, Sylvester Ezeani, was on Tuesday arrested and interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in connection to an alleged N20 million bribery scam.

A member of the House of Representatives representing Oron Constituency, Akwa Ibom State, Nse Bassey Ekpenyong was also arested by operatives of the EFCC for his alleged involvement in a certificate forgery scam, Premium Times is reporting.

Mr. Ezeani, who was the Resident INEC Commissioner for Cross River State during the March 28, 2015 Presidential and National Assembly Elections is accused of having collected N20 million out of the entire N241,000,000 released to the state from the $115million lodged with Fidelity Bank Plc, by the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison- Madueke.

Ezeani is still in the custody of the EFCC.

Meanwhile, Ekpenyong was arrested after  a non-governmental organization petitioned the EFCC, alleging that he committed perjury and financial crimes by submitting a forged Ordinary National Diploma/Statement of Result of the Abia State Polytechnic to INEC in the build up to the 2015 National Assembly election.

The petitioner argued that Ekpenyong fraudulently obtained salaries, allowances and other financial benefits with his contrived certificate.

According to the EFCC, Ekpenyong did not attend the Polytechnic as alleged by the petitioner, and the Ordinary National Diploma did not emanate from the institution.