The American International School of Abuja (AISA) has requested the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to provide “authentic banking details” for the refund of fees paid for the children of Yahaya Bello, the immediate-past governor of Kogi State.
Bello purportedly paid $720,000 in advance as fees for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi State Government. These children are currently enrolled in Grade Levels 2 to 8 at the school.
Recent developments indicate that EFCC operatives laid siege on Bello’s residence in Abuja on April 17 in an attempt to arrest him over an alleged N80.2 billion fraud.
However, during the operation, Usman Ododo, the governor of Kogi, arrived at the scene and reportedly whisked Bello away.
In a formal letter addressed to the Lagos Zonal Commander of the EFCC, AISA disclosed that a total of $845,852 has been paid in tuition fees “since the 7th of September 2021 to date.”
The school stated that the sum to be refunded is $760,910 after deducting educational services already provided.
The school emphasized, “Please forward to us an official written request, with the authentic banking details of the EFCC, for the refund of the above-mentioned funds as previously indicated as part of your investigation into the alleged money laundering activities by the Bello family.”
Moreover, AISA warned that it would alert the anti-graft agency if there were any further deposits by the Bello family.
A statement by Greg Hughes, Chairman of AISA, revealed that “Ali Bello contacted the school on Friday, August 13, 2021, requesting to pay the family school fees in advance until the students graduate from High School.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed that the former governor transferred $720,000 from the government’s coffers to a bureau de change before leaving office to prepay his child’s school fee.
Olukoyede expressed dismay, stating, “A sitting governor, because he knows he is going, moved money directly from government to bureau de change, used it to pay the child’s school fee in advance, $720,000 in advance, in anticipation that he was going to leave the Government House.”
This incident raises questions about financial transparency and accountability in governance, particularly in the context of alleged misappropriation of public funds for personal use.
