Executive Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano
By BABARA KALU, Akwa –
Anambra State Government has reacted to the placement of the state Governor Willie Obiano on the watchlist by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC had issued letter to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) requesting the immigration to place Governor Obiano on a watchlist and inform it anytime he is travelling out of the country from any of the international airports, as well as other points of entry and exit.
In his reaction, Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Don Adinuba, said in a statement on Thursday that the state governor is willing to answer any questions about his eight years in office.
Mr. Adinuba, however, noted that the governor has four months left to remain in office and the commission went to far by publicly announcing that it is investigating Governor Obiano.
“Governor Obiano has a whole four months to remain in office as the Anambra State chief executive. Nobody in Nigeria can circumscribe his constitutionally conferred immunity which shields him from both criminal and civil prosecution.
“The EFCC went too far to announce in November that it is observing him. We are not aware of any state governor who had up to four months to be in office and the EFCC went on to sponsor media reports that he was being investigated,” Adinuba said.
He added that: “It is, indeed strange that the EFCC is making a show that it is investigating a high public officer. Anti-corruption agencies, like intelligence services, conduct their investigations discreetly, and not on pages of newspapers. Media trial has never benefitted the EFCC”.
“The whole nation knows those behind all the present histrionics about Obiano. They are those who didn’t want the November 6 election to hold. They are those in high places who unsuccessfully canvassed for emergency rule in Anambra supposedly on security grounds. They are those who masterminded the Birnin Kudu High Court charade in Jigawa State over the APGA leadership and, more importantly, the authentic APGA candidate in the November gubernatorial election in Anambra State. They are those responsible for the sacrilege of a customary court in Abuja issuing criminal summons to Professor Soludo, a former Central Bank of Nigeria governor. These people are still fighting the gubernatorial battle on behalf of their badly defeated friends and political associates in the Anambra vote. They will fail badly, as they have done in the recent past”.
“The EFCC should not allow itself to be used by politicians who are mere birds of passage. Its ongoing Anambra drama is in bad taste. It did not serve Governor Obiano any notice. Nor did it invite him to answer questions about his service record. It just went to the press. Yet, the governor is willing to answer any questions about his years in office. After all, he has received a prestigious award from the United Nations Development Programme for social service integrity”, the statement said.
