The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Sunday, distanced itself from a list making the rounds in media publications (not NewsNGR) of governors under investigation.
According to the reports, details from the EFCC indicated that since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999, the country has seen 170 governors, with the probed former governors representing a significant portion of this number.
“Some notable mentions in the EFCC’s list include Orji Uzor Kalu, Joshua Dariye, and James Ibori, showcasing the extensive reach of the investigations,” one of the reports said.
However, reacting to this list in a press statement, through the EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale, EFCC said it “feels obliged to dissociate itself from a phantom report circulating in sections of the media claiming it has released a full list of ex- governors being investigated for alleged corruption.
“The report headlined: “EFCC Releases Full List of 58 Ex- Governors that Embezzled N2 .187 Trillion”, in one of the news outlets, is false and mischievous as the Commission neither issued the said list nor entertained discussions on investigation of ex-governors with any news medium.
“This invariably means that the so-called list is a disingenuous fabrication designed to achieve motives known only to the authors.”
The Commission therefore advised the general public to ignore the report as it is false and misleading.
Oyewale said: “The media is advised to endeavour to crosscheck facts pertaining to matters under investigation with the Commission to avoid misleading the public with false and inaccurate reports.”