According to report reaching oyogist.com, Governor Dapo Abiodun has reacted to reports of his aide, Abidemi Rufai who was arrested in US over N312bn fraud allegation.
Governor Abiodun ordered the immediate suspension of his Senior Special Assistant, Abidemi Rufai.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kunle Somorin, confirmed this to DAILY POST in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
“I can confirm that he (Abidemi Rufai) is a political appointee of Gov Abiodun and we are disturbed by the news. His suspension has been ordered. That I can confirm to you.
“The governor cannot be held responsible for his conduct. He has been suspended to answer charges. He is presumed innocent. He should face the law and answer the charges against him,” Somorin said.
Rufai was arrested on Friday at JFK Airport in New York for allegedly stealing over $350,000 through wire fraud in Washington.
The fund was from the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD).
The government of Washington had set aside the funds as unemployment benefits for residents during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The 42-year-old Abidemi Rufai, who disguised as Sandy Tang, 42, to perpetrate fraud, was said to have made his initial appearance on Saturday May 15, 2021 in New York.
Acting U.S. Attorney, Tessa M. Gorman, was said to have accused Rufai of using the stolen identities of over a hundred Washington residents to apply for relief funds for ESD for COVID-19-related unemployment benefits.
He had committed the same wire fraud in Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania, where he filed fraudulent unemployment claims.
