- The EFCC chairman said probes into 18 sitting governors are ongoing and action will follow after their tenures expire.
The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that 18 serving governors are under investigation.
He made the disclosure during a sensitisation programme held in Lagos on Friday.
Olukoyede said the agency would take necessary steps once the governors’ tenures end.
The event was organised to sensitise stakeholders, including movie producers and bureau de change operators, on naira abuse and mutilation.
While responding to questions from participants, the EFCC boss shared a past incident involving a former Nigerian governor in the United Kingdom.
He said, “I will give you an experience we had in EFCC. There was a time in this country when we were investigating a governor.
“We don’t wait until they finish their tenures before we investigate. As I’m talking to you, I’m investigating about 18 governors who are still serving.
“When they leave (office), we will go to the next level.”
He recounted that the former governor fled Nigeria immediately after leaving office to avoid arrest.
“Immediately, he finished his tenure, the following day, he took off to England to avoid the arrest of EFCC,” he said.
Olukoyede added that the former governor organised a birthday celebration in a hotel shortly after arriving in the UK.
“Coincidentally, that week happens to be his birthday. He organised a birthday party in the hotel where he was staying.
“While the party was going on, he started spraying pounds — 50 bills and 10 bills.
“So the manager of the hotel was called. He came down and saw the former governor spraying pounds.
“He had never seen such a thing in his life so he had to call 911.
“When the Metropolitan Police came, he asked that they should help arrest the former governor.
“The ex-governor was arrested and they wanted to put him in an ambulance.
“The people — his friends, colleagues, and two governors — who went to London to celebrate with him had to intervene.
“They said the ex-governor was not a mad man because the hotel manager thought he was mad.”