Patricia Etteh, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged fraud relating to a Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contract.
Mrs Etteh was arrested in Abuja on Tuesday and is being interrogated for allegedly receiving a suspicious N130 million payment from a contractor the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) awarded a solar-powered electrification project in Akwa Ibom State.
According to investigations, N130 million was transferred to Mrs Etteh who is neither a director nor a shareholder of the company on record.
The EFCC is also suspicious that the contractor did not execute the contract after payment was received.
What you should know
- Mrs Etteh was speaker of the House of Representatives from June 6, 2007, to October 30, 2007.
- Etteh who is the first elected female speaker in Nigeria had to resign over allegations of financial misappropriation a few months after she was elected.
- Her colleagues had accused her of awarding a N628 million contract for the renovation of her official residence and that of her deputy as well as the purchase of 12 official vehicles.
- The House of Representatives later exonerated the former Speaker of alleged wrongdoing in the N628 million House renovation saga which resulted in her resignation.
- Prior to becoming Speaker, she was a member representing the Ayedaade, Isokan, and Irewole constituency in Osun State.
