ICPC grills APC reps candidate in Ekiti over contract fraud

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Thursday, September 17, grilled Toyin Okoro, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Ise-Orun/Ikere/Ekiti Federal Constituency seat in the house of representatives, over  contract fraud.

Okoro, a former senior legislative aide to Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, arrived at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja at about 2 p.m.

The development followed a formal invitation dated September 7, and signed by Oshinyemi Oluwaseun, head of the ICPC special duty team, on behalf of the chairman of the anti-graft agency.

Okoro waited for about 30 minutes at the commission’s reception before he was ushered into an interrogation room at about 2:40 p.m.

He was questioned by a team of investigators for more than two hours before being released on bail at about 5 p.m.

The APC candidate was asked to return for further questioning at a later date.

According to the notice of invitation, the commission is investigating Okoro over  violation of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

The agency accused him of operating a private company while serving as a senior legislative aide at the national assembly, contrary to public service rules.

He was also accused of using his position as a public servant to secure public contracts for the private company from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), among others.

When the offences were reported to anti-graft agencies, Okoro falsified and backdated his resignation letter in an attempt to defend his actions.

He was further accused of receiving salaries and allowances from the national assembly while serving as the beneficial owner of the company.

Okoro was also accused of lying under oath in his submissions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), based on evidence from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the national assembly.

The ICPC is expected to continue its investigation into the allegations, with Okoro scheduled to return for further questioning.