Edo: Governor-elect Okpebholo distances himself from arrest of Accountant General and others by EFCC

The Governor-elect of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has distanced himself from the arrest of the State Accountant General, Mr. Julius Anelu and four other state treasury officials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

DAILY POST reports that the Accountant General and other staff of the state government were arrested last Thursday by the EFCC for signing the accounts of the state government.

The arrest followed an invitation letter from the anti-corruption agency to government officials dated October 28, 2024.

The state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehihare, who confirmed the arrest, said the letter inviting the EFCC officials was addressed to the Secretary to the State Government.

He stated that the letter was entitled “Loans and Agricultural Interventions provided to the Edo State Government from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) from 2018 to date.”

He noted that the agricultural property has since been repaid by the state government.

Reacting to the arrest, the state Governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, urged members of the public to ignore news circulating on various social media platforms linking him to the arrest.

In a statement, Godswill Inegbe, the Senior Legislative Media Assistant to the senator and governor-elect, opined that the arrest by the EFCC was aimed at stopping the alleged ongoing looting of public funds.

According to him, the attention of the Governor-elect of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has been drawn to a misleading publication circulating on social media linking him to the recent arrest of the Accountant General of Edo State, Mr. Julius Anelu and four others – EFCC.

“Our investigation revealed that this baseless publication, filled with speculation and devoid of fundamental facts, was fabricated by members of the PDP and associates of the outgoing administration of Governor Obaseki.

“In the publication, the author falsely accused the governor-elect of using the EFCC to intimidate officials in the administration of Governor Obaseki, whose term expires on November 12.

“It is clear that the PDP and members of Governor Obaseki’s outgoing administration are suffering from the severe trauma of their post-election defeat, which has obviously led to an illogical, absurd and unfounded reaction on their part.

“For the avoidance of doubt and to inform the general public, the Governor-elect, like every citizen of Edo, learned of the arrests of Mr. Julius Anelu and other government officials through media reports. The arrests carried out by the EFCC are said to be aimed at preventing last-minute withdrawals from government accounts.

“It is worth recalling that just over a week ago, in a press statement, we warned the public and relevant security agencies of the ongoing looting of funds and theft of government property at the Government House in Benin, as well as in various ministries, departments and agencies. (MDA).

“With the recent intervention of the EFCC and the arrest of key officials who signed government reports, Edo residents can now better understand the extent of looting at Government House and MDAs in Edo State,” he said.