Photo: Rep Igwe with the cash during his arrest
Police arrest Rep member with $500,000 cash allegedly for vote buying
The Police Command in Rivers State on Friday, arrested Mr Chinyere Igwe, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member of the House of Representatives, for alleged possessing $500,000 cash for vote buying on the eve of the 2023 general elections.
Rep Igwe, who represents Port Harcourt 2 Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber, is said to be a supporter of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar.
The lawmaker was arrested on the Aba Highway in Port Harcourt, the State capital while conveying the hard currency cash, which is the equivalent of about N250,000,000.00 million.
Periscope International gathered that, apart from the foreign currency allegedly in his possession, the Police also found on the suspect a list of how the money was scheduled for disbursement.
Sources said that Igwe confessed to the police that the money was meant for vote buying to be distributed to beneficiaries in the 23 local government areas of the State, security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The lawmaker also claimed that the money was given to him by Atiku to ensure his electoral success in Rivers.
Igwe’s arrest comes less than 24 hours to the general elections and barely 72 hours after the building housing his two media outfits, the Wish FM and the Atlantic Television Network was brought down in a bomb blast.
The police command in Rivers State had yet to officially respond to the lawmaker’s arrest as of the time of filing this report.
