Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed dissatisfaction with the way Kogi State Governor Ahmed Ododo shielded his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, from honouring an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding allegations of mismanagement of public funds in the state.
President Tinubu is concerned about strengthening law enforcement institutions to perform their constitutional duties.
According to the President, the drama involving the EFCC, Bello, and Ododo was detrimental to democracy and further demonstrated the country’s inability to enforce the law.
The president is said to have expressed his displeasure upon returning to the country from his trip to China and discovering that Bello was still allegedly being shielded by Ododo, despite asking the governor to act in accordance with the law he had sworn to uphold as the governor of Kogi state.
It has been learned that Tinubu refused to interfere in the matter, even though both Bello and Ododo were members of the APC. Instead, he decided to leave the anti-graft agency to carry out its duties as stipulated by law, advising some aides and members of his party to advise the former Kogi governor to follow the path of other public officeholders who have accepted the invitation of the anti-corruption agency.
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On Tuesday, a Special Adviser with knowledge of the president’s warning disclosed that the President had concerns that Bello does not have to go into hiding if he is indeed innocent as he earlier claimed.
In her remarks, she noted that the president wanted public officials invited over alleged misappropriations to speak out and present documents that could exonerate them.
Reacting to the situation, Adeyemi Sulaimon, a renowned lawyer, accused Governor Ododo of violating the law he swore to protect. He stated that it was an abuse of privilege for a governor to aid a suspect in evading arrest when it should have been the other way around.
Sulaimon encouraged the governor to consider the consequences of his actions, including legal implications after leaving office.
On his part, the convener of the Patriotisms Awareness Forum (PAF), Nelson Ekujumi, noted that whatever the case, the court is available for anyone to free himself from any allegations made by law enforcement agencies.
