The Anambra State Government has accused the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), of witch hunting Governor Willie Obiano using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The state Commissioner of Information and Public Enlightenment, Don Adinuba, alleged that the EFCC is being supervised by the Office of the AGF, and that Malami had made efforts to frustrate the recent governorship election in Anambra.
Recall that Malami had said the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State may not hold over Insecurity.
He had added that the Federal Government may declare a state of emergency in the state if the Governor Obiano led government failed to improve the security situation in the state.
However, the election was held as stipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and was warned by the governor’s party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
But as Obiano prepares to handover to the winner of the election, a former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, the EFCC announced recently it had placed the outgoing governor on a watchlist.
While speaking on Channels Television’s programme, Adinuba said the EFCC’s action is politically motivated.
According to him, “Nobody invited him (the governor) to interrogate him or hear his own side of the story. No petition was presented to him. He did not make any comments. But all of a sudden, the EFCC announced rather secretly…using the media as a third party…to announce that he is being watched. That is very surprising. There is absolutely no reason for that. And worse, the EFCC gave the impression that the governor wants to bolt away when he has a whole four months to remain in office.
“It is unimaginable that a governor will abandon a state a whole four months to the end of his tenure. That is surprising. It just does not make sense to anyone simply because the whole exercise is politically motivated.”
When asked who he was referring to, the commissioner said, “I will repeat who these people are. The very people who did not want election to hold in Anambra State and had the audacity to tell the whole nation that the election was not going to hold for security reasons, without clearance with the President.
“Immediately the President got to know of this plot, he was alarmed and said ‘no, the election must hold in Anambra and it must be free and fair’. And the election actually became free, fair and transparent, and its outcome is in sync with the sentiments and expectations of the generality of not only Anambra people but all Nigerians.
“Consequently, Soludo’s victory became a national phenomenon. These people have tried everything possible to stop AGPA’s representative, Soludo, and consequently winning the election, they went as far as approving a Customary Court in Abuja to obtain summons – criminal summons – on Soludo. They went as far as arranging a kangaroo judgment from a High Court in Jigawa State over the chairmanship of APGA and more importantly, the authentic candidate of APGA in the November 6 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.”