Babatunde Fowler, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service is on the run, LeadingReporters revealed.
Information availed this online platform indicates that Babatunde Fowler dug his own grave by inviting EFCC to probe some senior officers of the commission.
As much as over N2b was seen in a particular director’s account. It was in the course of the investigation that it was revealed that one of the aides of FIRS Chairman has over N300m in a single account with one of the new generation banks (name withheld).
Information uncovered by LeadingReporters revealed that no sooner the aide was arrested and interrogated than she confessed that the said account is a conduit through which the Chairman of FIRS, Babatunde Fowler wires funds of the agency to his proxies, friends, including buying a Porsche car as birthday gift for one of his girlfriends.
The confession of other Directors, including Director of Finance, and outgoing Coordinating Director nailed Babatunde Fowler, whom a source revealed is desperately eyeing for the position of Finance Minister or Central Bank of Nigeria Governor. The aide, threatening not to go down alone, was said to have confessed that most recently, Babatunde Fowler, as usual, used the said account to route out millions of Naira from which he bought a car which he gifted a girlfriend as birthday gift.
Why did Mr. Fowler invite EFCC to probe his directors? You may ask. Bearing in mind that he may be succeeded by some of the directors, including the outgoing Coordinating Director, Fowler on the advice Ahmed Bola Tinubu reported them to EFCC as a way of coming clean in the eyes of EFCC without knowing that one thing would lead to another to his own peril.
This hatched plan was to enable him and his godfather to clear the way CD whom they believe has the likelihood of succeeding him as Chairman of FIRS because of his experience and dedication to duty. Others sources spoke to claimed that Fowler is afraid that the man knows so much about him and as such he wanted to cede him as a scapegoat.
“Babatunde Fowler is eyeing for the position of Minister of Finance or the Governor of CBN. He has a preferred successor in mind and for him to have his way, he felt it was the best to bring down the others. Karma is after him now because you cannot go to equity with unclean hands”. A source said.
But the bubble burst when the other indicted directors opened cans of worm on how Fowler has been cornering hundreds of Millions of Naira from the coffers of FIRS. Upon being queried about the source of over N300m found in her account, Fowler’s aide confessed that the account and the monies were not hers, but Fowler’s. She told the commission how Babatunde Fowler uses her account to move out funds and funds frivolities.
This led to an order for the arrest of Babatunde Fowler who immediately escaped from the office upon receiving intelligence that EFCC was coming to raid his office and home.
A close source in the FIRS, who requested to remain anonymous, told LeadingReporters that from the look of things, fun times are over for Tinubu and all his boys who have been pillaging the nation’s resources.
The source further revealed that EFCC is bent on bringing all the indicted people who have turned FIRS as a cash cow to book.
Recall that some Directors of the Federal Inland Revenue were in EFCC custody for sixteen days where they were being quizzed and interrogated for various offences bordering on diversion of Government funds and financial recklessness.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that Babatunde Fowler is currently taking custody in Tinubu’s Abuja residence, believing that the Vice President would wade in to save him from the impending prosecution.
In our next publication, we would avail you the names of the companies and proxies through which billions of Naira, under collection costs, have been fleeced government under the watch of Babatunde Fowler as the Chairman of FIRS.
