A group in Plateau State has filed a petition with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the suspended Caretaker Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Latep Dabang, for allegedly mismanaging N593 million belonging to the party.
The Plateau Chapter of APC had suspended Dabang for alleged anti-party activities. The petitioners alleged that the embattled former chairman illegally diverted the money through arbitrary withdrawals of party funds.
The petition read in part: “We want the EFCC to commence an immediate investigation into the alleged criminal financial mismanagement levelled against Latep Dabang during his seven years in office from 2014 to 2021.
“All the actions of the suspended Caretaker Chairman are contrary to the spirit of democratic ethos and value and social justice contract with the party faithful, and this has a serious negative impact on the operations and credibility of the party.
“The allegations levelled against him include: excessive increase in administrative operational expenses, extra-budgetary expenditures on hotel accommodation and under-disclosure of expenditures on hotel expenses and diversion of funds, amongst others.”
The petitioners alleged that the former chairman could not account for N200 million of the party’s financial transactions between 2018 and 2019, and that all his actions were contrary to the spirit of democratic ethos and value and social justice contract.