The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begun investigating a petition alleging corruption in the Centenary City Project to be built on Dubai model initiated by former president Goodluck Jonathan and endorsed by the successor Muhammadu Buhari government.
The anti-graft agency, Tuesday, invited some petitioners, Nigerian Unemployed Youth Vanguard (NUYV), to furnish it with information that would help it to nail top government officials in the previous administration, who were accused of using the project as a conduit pipe to siphon public funds into private pockets.
The initiative of the past government was meant to be a monument to commemorate Nigeria’s 100 years of nationhood.
Mr. Solomon Adodo, National Coordinator of the NUYV petitioners, briefing newsmen after their meeting with EFCC investigators, said they were satisfied that those involved in the fraud would be punished accordingly if found guilty in court.
Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), had asked a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory to award him N2 billion as general and aggravated damages for insults he had received over the Centenary City Project that was hitherto under his supervision.
Anyim, in two separate suits through his lawyer, Chief Mike Ozehkome (SAN), told the court that he had been called many derogatory names such as “419ner,” “fraudster” and “corrupt former SGF,” among others.
The ex-SGF wants the court to compel the National Vice Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (South-South), Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, and Deputy National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress, Mr. Timi Frank, to retract damaging stories and apologise to him in six major dailies.
In an exclusive interview with TheNiche recently, Senator Anyim disclosed the importance of the Centenary City Project saying, it covers 1,265-hectares land in FCT, 400 hectares of which are hills, water and rocks.
Eagle Hills Int. Properties and Mohammed Alabbar are the major investors. But since it is a Plc, all Nigerian corporates will be able to buy shares in it when floated on The Exchange.
So far, 40 companies have invested in it, seven of them paying $5 million each while others are buying equity shares for between $250,000 and $500,000. At the heart of the project is the construction of top level conference facilities where foreign heads of states and other private dignitaries can be comfortably accommodated.
President Muhammadu Buhari last August met the main development partners from United Arab Emirates (UAE) and praised them for having enough confidence in Nigeria to invest about $18.5 billion in the project.
He was optimistic that the skills, expertise and vast experience that would be brought into Nigeria to build the Centenary City on the Dubai model would also be of immense benefit to Nigeria and create about 250,000 direct jobs.