Following the arrest of the Accountant General of Edo, Julius Anelu, and two other government officials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a Civil Society Organisation in the state, Initiative for Democratic Advancement and Free Speech, has called on the anti-graft agency to ensure the return of public funds by those in its custody and their allies.
Anelu and the other officials were arrested last week for alleged withdrawals of huge sums of money from the state’s account.
Checks revealed that the Commission discovered that out of N24.6 Billion Derivation Funds paid into the State coffers, about N14 billion was left within a week.
Executive Director of the organisation, Patrick Osaigbovo, in a statement urged the Commission not to wait till Governor Godwin Obaseki exited from office.
It demanded that the EFCC beamed its searchlight on over N1.5 trillion received from Federation Account by the People’s Democratic Party-led administration in Edo State in the last eight years.
The statement reads in part: “We have watched with dismay, the inhuman looting that has been going on in Edo for years. We are surprised that the EFCC, for almost eight years, did not lift its fingers to arrest any official of Obaseki’s administration.
“Even with just a few days to go, the looting has not stopped. We are wondering if the EFCC wants the State to go bankrupt before it steps in? We have enough evidence to assist the EFCC in doing its job. This is to show you how much we care about our State, Edo.
“However, we want to put it on notice that if the EFCC fails to act next week and arrest those allegedly involved in the blind stealing, we will not have any option, but to lead a mass protest to the headquarters of the EFCC.
“We are aware that some key officials of the Edo State Government are already relocating with the stolen funds. How does the EFCC plan to handle this? We can not allow this notorious stealing to go unchallenged.
“Obaseki got over N1.5 trillion as revenues and allocations in eight years. Edo State does not look like it got such funds. So, Obaseki must account for those funds now or later.”
The Forum threatened to stage a protest at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja to push for its demand for speedy investigation of alleged looting of public funds in Edo.