By Funso Alarape
Friday March 15, 2024
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Kogi State Government has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of planning to raise false and fractious charges against former Governor Yahaya Bello.
According to a press statement issued by the state government and signed by the Information Commissioner, Kingsley Fanwo, the government accused the commission of executing a political agenda instead of fighting corruption by its constitutional mandate.
The government said EFCC should come clean on reasons on reasons for witch-hunting the former governor, instead of the false narrative of missing money.
it described the action of the anti-graft agency as persecution and mafia trial of the former governor.
It alleged that some powerful politicians are bent on destroying the image of Bello out of vendetta.
The statement reads:
“The amended charges in which the name of the former Governor was mentioned are false, frivolous, fictitious, and far from the truth. They are cooked-up charges that signpost their desperation to call a dog a bad name to hang it.
“The intention was to sensationalize the whole scenario and promote a media war against the former Governor and other officials of government.”
Kogi government called on President Bola Tinubu to order a special probe into “what is happening in Kogi State before the EFCC is pushed into being used as a hired gun by political hawks who are acting a selfish and overambitious script.”
It said those who had personal grievances could vent their grievances without dragging Bello’s name in the mud and that of Kogi State in the mud, adding that it “believes in transparency, accountability and probity in line with the trend from 2016.”
The statement reads: “As a subnational in the Nigerian nationhood, we wish to express our utmost respect for agencies set up to perform specific functions towards the greatness of Nigeria. The Kogi State Government is also conscientiously committed to the determination of the present administration to stop corruption and fight corruption.
“As an administration, we inherited the zero tolerance for corruption policy from the immediate past administration of His Excellency Alh. Yahaya Bello, CON. From 2016, the Government of Kogi State has continually strengthened its anti-corruption brakes and bumps to ensure the commonwealth of the people works for the common good of Kogites. This has won the State Government a lot of credible awards from national and international organizations, including the World Bank.
“A few years back, we witnessed a worrisome trend and torrent of witch-hunt by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, unrepentantly striving to force corruption claims on our Government and its officials. The Commission started with claims that it discovered a non-existent fund in an alleged Fixed Deposit Account.
“It eventually shot itself in the foot with a badly scripted skit of conniving with the now discredited Emefiele-led Central Bank to claim the money was returned to the Central Bank. This is the height of a witch-hunt and unprovoked attack on the integrity of the Government and People of Kogi State.
“The desperation of the EFCC to hastily and for glaring political reasons, hound the immediate past Governor on their corruption list is unfortunate and speaks volumes on how we reward altruistic leadership in our nation. For the records, we wish to make it clear that Kogi’s funds are not missing and that the EFCC is trying so hard to find what is not missing.
“We therefore call on the EFCC to desist from mentioning the name of Kogi State in its ongoing persecution, orchestrated by some political actors in and around the Presidency bent on destroying the image of Alh. Yahaya Bello and Kogi State. We believe that this ignoble agenda is unknown to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who trusted those people with power with the hope that they will use it judiciously for the greatness of our nation.”
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