The Federal Government (FG) has declared that switching allegiance to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will not shield political office holders, including governors, from prosecution for alleged corruption.
This position was made clear by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi in response to allegations raised by Paul Ibe, spokesperson to former Vice President and PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
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In a statement issued by his media aide, Kamarudeen Ogundele, Fagbemi dismissed the claim that top officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Ministry of Justice had met with two South-South governors 48 hours before their defection to the APC.
He criticised the allegation as baseless and defamatory.
“The discerning members of the public know those he could have been referring to,” he noted.
However, he firmly rejected the narrative, saying, “We wish to state categorically that the allegation is from the pit of hell, and at best, a figment of imagination of Mr Ibe.”
He added that neither the EFCC chairman nor the Solicitor General held any such meeting, urging Nigerians to disregard what he described as an attempt to malign the anti-corruption efforts of President Tinubu’s administration.
“President Bola Tinubu’s administration will continue to uphold the rule of law and will not falter in the fight against corruption no matter whose ox is gored,” the AGF reiterated.
The EFCC also issued a rebuttal through its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, describing Ibe’s allegations as fictitious and politically motivated.
According to the agency, Ibe’s comments during a recent television appearance were riddled with “theories, conjectures and assumptions.”
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The Commission stressed that its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, remains neutral and committed to non-partisan enforcement of the law.
“The public is enjoined to disregard the alleged meeting with the unnamed governor as it only exists in the imagination of Ibe,” the EFCC’s statement read.
