Alleged N100m bribe: Akpabio to face CCB probe

Following an allegation of bribery leveled against the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill  Akpabio by Jackson Ude on twitter, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has instituted an  investigation panel to unravel the veracity of the allegation.

Akpabio was alleged to have attempted bribing some officials of CCB to give a “soft landing” to Sole Administrator of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Efiong Okon Akwa over discrepancies in his asset declaration form.

Federal Commissioner in CCB, Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma disclosed this on Monday while speaking with journalists in Abuja.

Agbonayinma, who heads a subcommittee investigating the case, said it is not a witchhunt.

He said the Bureau was looking at the accusation first made against Mr Akpabio by Jackson Ude on Twitter.

“We have been given a mandate by the bureau to investigate the allegation against some officials of CCB that we saw on social media. Let me be specific, one Mr Jackson Ude tweeted, and it went viral, that money was given to some officials of CCB by Akpabio. Because of that, a committee to investigate the allegation was set up, with myself as the chairman,” he said.

He added that the subcommittee interacted with Akpabio over the allegation.

“The committee is not to witch-hunt anyone but to do its job of defending the constitution of Nigeria.

“We invited Akpabio, who in his wisdom, came to give his side of the story. At the moment, we cannot pass judgement as the investigation is still in progress. All the accused parties remain innocent until the investigation is over,” he added.