Governor Usman Ododo has labeled the recent corruption charges against former governor Yahaya Bello by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a witch hunt.
Ododo, speaking through his commissioner for information, Kingsley Fanwo, stated that Kogi State funds were not missing under Bello’s administration.
Allub Times reports that the EFCC recently included Bello in an amended charge filed against Alli Bello, the chief of staff to the current governor, Usman Ododo, and Daudu Suleiman.
The EFCC accused the defendants of diverting around N100 billion from Kogi State in September 2015, before Bello took office as governor.
Ododo urged the EFCC to stop mentioning the former governor’s name in its “ongoing persecution,” claiming that some political figures are determined to tarnish Bello’s reputation.
“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 statement read.
“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 volume 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.
“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 in order 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.”
The government urged President Bola Tinubu to initiate a special investigation into the issue, saying that Kogi state will continue to back the federal government’s efforts in fighting corruption.
