Why EFCC arrested ex- House of Reps Speaker, Patricia Etteh
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Patricia Etteh, over a shady contract worth N240m awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission.
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.
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.
