The Anambra State Government has said Governor Willie Obiano will not surrender to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after leaving office.
The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba, disclosed that the governor, whose eight-year tenure will end today (Wednesday), had not been invited by the EFCC as he had no case to answer.
Obiano will hand over to his successor, Prof Charles Soludo, in Awka, on Thursday, amid reports that he plans to relocate to the United States after leaving office.
The anti-graft commission had last year placed the governor on its watch list. In a letter to the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service dated November 15, 2021, the EFCC requested to be informed anytime Obiano was travelling out of the country from any of the international airports and other points of entry and exit.
Obiano is one of several governors allegedly being investigated for graft and money laundering.
But responding to questions on whether the governor would surrender to the EFCC or not, Adinuba said his principal had not been invited by the commission and insisted that there was no petition against him that could warrant an investigation or invitation.
He dismissed reports that the governor had been placed on the watch list of the EFCC and the NIS.
The commissioner stated, “First of all, the EFCC never made that statement categorically to anybody. So, when the deficiencies in the statement were highlighted, they were clear and convincing to everyone. I am not aware anybody has indicted him (Obiano).
“Nobody confronted him with any issue; I do not think there are petitions against him. We were surprised to read in newspapers, and not even a statement by the EFCC directly; just a statement from third parties. I find it curious that they would say they are waiting for him. The governor, to the best of my knowledge, is not worried about the EFCC; there is nothing to worry about.”
When asked if Obiano would voluntarily go to the EFCC to clear his name, Adinuba stated, “Will you go to the EFCC if you aren’t invited? Do you expect me to go to the EFCC if I have not been invited?
“To the best of my knowledge, there is no invitation from the EFCC. The commission has the governor’s telephone number and address, but has made no move to contact him. It will be extremely foolish to go there. There is no contact between us and the EFCC.”
“They have his phone number and address; they should invite him. You have not done that; you have not called him on the phone. Everybody knows he is in the country; he has been in the country for months. He is not hiding.”
Asked if the outgoing governor would be invited after leaving office, the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, stated, “We don’t disclose details of our investigation before it is carried out.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos zonal command of the commission has arraigned one Kolawole Erinle alongside his firm, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja on amended three counts bordering on conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, and obtaining money under false pretences to the tune of $1,410,000.
The defendant was alleged to have engaged in business email compromise to defraud his victim.
The case, which was reported to the EFCC by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, alleged that in 2019, the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences transferred $1,412,509 to an account believed to be that of a contractor.
Investigations into the alleged crime, however, revealed that the defendant benefited from the fund, which was transferred in two tranches to a company in Nigeria.
“The defendant, on receipt of the fund, disbursed it to his wife, mother and cronies. The proceeds were further traced to fixed deposits, assets such as landed property and vehicles he purchased,” the anti-graft agency stated.
