The American International School of Abuja (AISA) has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to provide “authentic banking details” for the refund of fees paid for the children of the immediate-past governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
Bello allegedly paid $720,000 in advance as fees for five of his children from the coffers of the state government.
The children are in grade levels 2 to 8 at the school.
On 17th April, EFCC operatives laid siege on Bello’s residence in Abuja in an attempt to arrest him over an alleged N80.2 billion fraud.
While the operatives were at the house, the current governor of the state, Alhaji Usman Ododo arrived at the property and reportedly whisked Bello away.
In a letter addressed to the Lagos zonal commander of the EFCC, the school said the sum of $845,852 has been paid in tuition “since the 7th of September 2021 to date”.
AISA said the sum to be refunded is $760,910 because it had deducted educational services already rendered.
The letter read: “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.
“Since the 7th September 2021 to date, $845,852.84 (Eight Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Two US Dollars and eighty-four cent in tuition and other fees have been deposited into our Bank account.
“We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the State, after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84. (Seven Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ten US Dollars and Eighty-Four cents).
“No further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition as the students’ fees have now been settled until they graduate from ASIA”.
The school said it would draw the attention of the anti-graft agency if there were any further deposits by the Bello family.
In a statement by Greg Hughes, AISA also said” “Ali Bello contacted the school on Friday 13th August 2021 requesting to pay the family school fees in advance until the students graduate from High School”.
During an interview with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede had revealed that a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, transferred $720,000 from the government’s coffers to a bureau de change before leaving office to pay in advance for his child’s school fee.
He further said: “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.
“In a poor state like Kogi, and you want me to close my eyes to that under the guise of ‘I’m being used.’ Being used by who at this stage of my life?”
