By SaharaReporters
Embattled Ekiti State governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, begged Zenith Bank Plc to save him when he discovered that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was closing in on him.
The EFCC, on Monday, froze two personal accounts of the governor and one belonging to his company, Spotless Investments, in the course of its investigations into N4.7billion Fayose allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser during his election campaign in 2014.
Fayose has since denied receiving any money, claiming it was Zenith Bank that majorly funded his campaign.
But SaharaReporters was reliably informed by sources at Zenith that the bank did not finance his election, but handled money from the Office of the National Security Adviser. Last week, sources said further, Fayose, rushed to the bank to beg its management not to share his bank documents with the EFCC, telling that bank to say that the constitutional immunity he enjoys prevents the bank from doing so. He also pleaded that they should claim to have funded his campaign, but bank officials declined, saying it had already given its word to the EFCC to hand over his bank documents.
The sources explained that the bank had no option than to cooperate with the EFCC, knowing fully well President Muhamamdu Buhari’s determination to recover stolen funds. Also, the bank’s former managing director, Godwin Emefiele, is the incumbent Central Bank of Nigeria Governor.
In desperation, he returned to beg the bank to help perfect documents for one of the accounts used for the N4.7billion, but the bank again refused. Angry, Fayose then threatened that he will take the bank down with him.
Zenith Bank sources said if Fayose got support any financial support from the bank, it could never have exceeded N50million as donation. According to them, the bank did not consider funding a campaign as one of its duties and was not even sure if he could win. Similarly, they disclosed that they were surprised at the deluge of money meant for him during and after Fayose’s campaign.
However, bank sources were not sure whether or not the bank filed suspicious transaction reports, given that some of the funds were never entered into the bank database. The bank was just using its bullion vans and vaults to move cash for the governor.
