Get a court order or back-off from Rivers – Wike challenges EFCC

Nyesom Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has accused the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government of using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for what it described as illegal actions in the State.

Wike said this in a statement made available by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu.

He said that Rivers State Government under a former Governor, Peter Odili obtained a court judgment that the EFCC had no constitutional power to investigate state funds, pointing out that the EFCC was yet to vacate that order at a superior court.

Wike declared that no official of the Rivers State Government would appear before EFCC over her politically motivated investigations until the EFCC approached the Court of Appeal to set aside the 2007 Judgment barring the commission from investigating the state.

He claimed that the EFCC froze the accounts of Akwa Ibom and Benue State Governments just to get at Rivers.

“No government official will appear before the EFCC until they set aside the court judgment of Rivers State Government against them in 2007. We cannot be intimidated.

“They filed for leave to appeal the judgment at the Court of Appeal. Until they set aside the judgment, we will not come.

“We are aware of their tricks. They should not bother engaging in media trial because it will not work. This is mere political witch-hunt.

“They must obey the rule of law. We have filed another action against the EFCC. Because they have been served, they are telling the Press that they have started investigating Rivers State Government.

“This media war by the EFCC will not work. We stand on the rule of law.

“There is no worse impunity than for the EFCC to shutdown a tier of government through the freezing of the accounts of two State Governments.

“An agency of federal government has frozen the accounts of Akwa Ibom and Benue State Governments . This is the worst coup against the constitution and the law-abiding people of those states.

“But the target is not Benue or Akwa Ibom States. The real target is Rivers State. The EFCC as a federal agency has no business with State Funds. That is the responsibility of the State House of Assembly,” Wike said.