Lamorde

Senate did not ask police to probe Lamorde, Waziri.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said the Senate did not ask the Police to probe the agency’s Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, and his predecessor, Farida Waziri.
The commission said it has not stopped its probe into the N182 billion pensions scam.
Its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said its chairman never took estacode from the Pension Task Force to travel abroad for a biometric exercise.
Uwujaren, observed with concern, reports in sections of the media alleging that the Senate has directed the police to probe Mrs. Waziri and Lamorde for perceived wrongdoing in the pension probe.
Uwujaren, said it was also reported that the commission has been directed by the Senate to hands-off further investigation of pension matters.
“These assertions, which made  headlines in some national dailies were gross misrepresentation of what transpired at the public hearing of the Senate Joint Committee on Investigations into Pension Administration on Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
  “The Commission wishes to state that at no time did the Senate committee or the Senate as a whole, order the police to probe Lamorde and Mrs. Waziri.
Neither did it request the EFCC to hands-off pension matters. Reports to the contrary, may have been promoted by interests to achieve certain nefarious ends.
  “For the benefit of millions of Nigerians who may have been misled by the falsehood published bysome sections of the media, the following represent the true account of events at the public hearing:
   “Lamorde appeared at the hearing in response to invitations by the committee. For Lamorde, it was his second time. 
When he first appeared before the committee some weeks back, he was confronted with a document that alleged that he collected estacode to travel to the United States (U.S.) for a biometric capturing exercise by the Pension Task Team, a claim which he vehemently denied.  
  “The EFCC chairman said he  never travelled abroad on any biometric capturing assignment and did not receive any estacode from anybody for that purpose.
“Even the head of the Pension Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, who was present on the occasion, confirmed that Lamorde did not travel and did not collect a kobo in estacode.  The EFCC chairman said he was sure the documents and claims regarding his person were forged.
“That puzzle was resolved on Tuesday, when the Chairman of the Senate Joint Committee,  Aloysius Etok, announced that his panel has found the person that collected the estacode in Lamorde’s name.
“Christian Madubuike, an official of the Police Pension Office, was unveiled by the Committee as the one who received the money.
“And in his open testimony, Madubuike confirmed that his account was used to collect the money under Lamorde’s name and that he collected and handed over the money to Mr. John Yusuf, an Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office, who is also a member of the Maina-led Pension Task Team.”