Three former Oyo State Commissioners in the administration of Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala were yesterday quizzed by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in connection with an alleged N6.2billion fraud.
A statement by ICPC said that the three Commissioners interrogated were Dr Kola Balogun, who was in charge of Commerce and Cooperatives, Chief Bayo Bankole, of the Finance Ministry and Alhaji Majekodunmi Aborode, who was in-charge of Environment.
The Accountant in the ministry of Environment and two other suspects believed to have worked with a contractor, Mrs Alero Odemwingie, were also at the ICPC headquarters
Lawyers to Odemwingie, in a letter signed by Tolulope Olaiya and Adeyemi Pitan, claimed that their client could not honour the invitation of the Commission because her daughter was ill.
In the letter dated August 2, 2011, the counsels said that she could not attend the said meeting at such short notice as her daughter was presently receiving treatment at a hospital in Ibadan.
“We, therefore, request that the Commission reschedule the said meeting for a later date. We will appreciate if our office was notified of the re-scheduled date to enable us arrange for her to attend.”
At the end of a meeting with the counsels, the commission asked Odemwingie to report at its Headquarters in Abuja next Wednesday, unfailingly to give insight into the contracts awarded to her.
One of the three commissioners, Alhaji Majekudunmi Aborode was later released on bail but directed to report in three weeks time with some documents on the matter.
The two other Commissioners Dr. Kola Balogun and Chief Bayo Bankole as at press time, are still being quizzed by operatives of the anti-graft agency.