Alleged N100bn tax fraud: Ex-MD accuses EFCC of ignoring petition against Alpha Beta

The immediate past Managing Director of Alpha Beta Consulting, Mr Tunde Apara, has said that seven months after writing a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the commission has yet to invite him to shed light on his allegations.

In an exclusive interview with Saturday PUNCH, Apara, who is out of the country, said, “I have not been contacted by the EFCC. The commission has ignored my petition. I am available to defend my petition.”

When asked why the EFCC had not contacted him, he said, “Maybe you can check with the EFCC why they have not invited me to defend my petition.”

Apara had in June last year written a petition to the EFCC accusing Alpha Beta Consulting of tax evasion and fraud to the tune of over N100bn.

Alpha Beta, which has exclusive rights to collect funds on behalf of Lagos State, is believed to be partly owned by a former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, who is also the campaign manager of President Muhammadu Buhari.

There had been allegations that the EFCC was refusing to take action on the petition because it was written against Buhari’s man.

Media Adviser to Tinubu, Mr Tunde Rahman, had during the week dared Apara, who wrote a petition against the company, to return to Nigeria to defend the petition.

In an opinion article titled, ‘Momodu and his obscene obsession’, Tinubu’s spokesman did not deny allegations that the former governor owned a stake in Alpha Beta. He, however, said the petition against the company had been rubbished and hinted that a counter-petition had been written.

Rahman said, “The person who filed the petition has absconded from Nigeria. That person fled after having bilked Alpha-Beta. Let that person return to Nigeria to see which petition has more validity.”

He said Alpha Beta had done wonderfully well and had helped Lagos to become the fifth largest economy in Africa.

Tinubu’s aide added, “Lest we forget, it was the ingenuity of Tinubu’s government that brought Alpha Beta. Because of this innovation, the Internally Generated Revenue of Lagos moved from N600m in 1999 to over N25bn monthly today.

“Powered by this increase in IGR, Lagos economy today is ranked fifth in Africa and social services in the state have improved across the board. Alpha Beta also has been invited by many states and other countries to do for them what was done for Lagos.”

Speaking with our correspondent on Friday, the Spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade, denied allegations that the commission had not touched the petition.

Orilade called on the petitioner to send a reminder to the EFCC and he would be duly updated on the work the anti-graft agency had done on the petition thus far.

He said, “Let the petitioner send a reminder and ask questions. He will be contacted. He should ask why his petition has not been attended to and he will be given an update. If there is a discreet investigation going on, he will be told.”

Alpha Beta Consulting has come under intense criticism from opposition politicians and members of the civil society.

Investigations by The PUNCH showed that the firm, which plays the same role as Remita at the federal level, was inaugurated in 2000.

The consultancy firm was awarded a contract by the Tinubu-led government after a recommendation by a committee comprising the then Attorney-General, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (now the Vice-President); Mr Wale Edun, the then commissioner for finance; and a former commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Yemi Cardoso.

The firm receives about 10 per cent commission on the funds collected on behalf of Lagos State every month.

The commission, however, varies based on the total amount of money it is able to remit to the state coffers.

It was also learnt that the contract between Alpha Beta and the state government ought to be subject to renewal yearly.

Bids from other companies are expected to be made to make room for competition.

However, the bidding process is said to be opaque as Alpha Beta’s contract has been renewed every year for nearly 19 years.

A search of the company’s profile at the Corporate Affairs Commission revealed that it was registered as Alpha Beta Consulting Limited with Registration Number 378848 on April 26, 2000.

At the time of incorporation, the share capital was N1m. The shareholders were: Mr. Ogunmola Olumide (N500, 000); Dapo Apara, who wrote the petition to the EFCC (N300,000); Gboyega Oyetola, now the governor of Osun State (N100,000); Adeyemi Lateef (N50,000); and Iyiola Olalekan (N50,000).

Although Tinubu has been constantly mentioned as one of the owners of the company, his name has never appeared on the company’s CAC documents.

Attempts to get a response from the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, proved abortive as he neither responded to calls nor a text message.

(PUNCH)

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