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The former Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] governorship candidate in Kwara State, Mohammed Dele Belgore, has admitted delivering ten million naira to the then commissioner of police in Kwara State, Garba Saliu, a day before the 2015 presidential election.
He revealed this while under cross-examination by counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], before Justice Rilwan AIkawa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Report shows that Monday’s business started with cross-examination of Belgore by counsel to the second accused.
The former PDP governorship candidate in Kwara maintained his defence that he and Professor Suleiman didn’t collect 450 million naira at a commercial bank in the state capital, two days to the election.
Though they both went to the bank, he said they left without collecting the cash, as it was too much to carry around in his vehicle.
Belgore revealed that the money was released by the national headquarters of the PDP in Abuja, out of proceeds from fund raising programmes held for the Jonathan presidential re-election bid.
According to him, the funds were to be used to mobilise party agents across the more than 1800 polling units of the state.
He said key stakeholders of the party later went to the bank the next day to collect the cash, and that the EFCC failed to question them even after he had supplied their names to the anti-graft agency.
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Mr Belgore denies receiving the 450 million naira from former petroleum minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, and says he has never met or communicated with her.
He also denied disbursing large chunks of the money to certain persons, including the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kwara State Emmanuel Onucheyo and the Commissioner of Police, Garba Saliu, in March 2015.
But when it was the turn of the EFCC counsel to cross-examine him, he conceded signing for the money at the bank, and was told to read a portion of his statement at the EFCC.
There he admitted delivering 10 million naira out of the 450 million to the Kwara commissioner of police, without using a known bank account or instructing any financial institution to issue the funds.
Further hearing continues on May 15.
