The Edo State Governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has disassociated himself from the arrest of the State Accountant General, Mr. Julius Anelu, and four other officials of the State’s Treasury Office by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

DAILY POST reports that the Accountant General and other staff of the state government were arrested last Thursday by the EFCC for being signatories to the state government’s accounts.

The arrest followed a letter of invitation from the anti-graft agency to the government officials, dated October 28, 2024.

The State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, who confirmed the arrest, said the letter inviting the officials from the EFCC was addressed to the Secretary to the State Government.

He stated that the letter was titled “Loans and Agricultural Interventions Granted to Edo State Government from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) from 2018 to date.”

He noted that the agricultural facility has since been repaid by the State Government.

In reaction to the arrest, the State Governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, urged members of the public to disregard the news circulating on various social media platforms linking him to the arrest.

A statement by Godswill Inegbe, Senior Legislative Aide on Media to the Senator and Governor-elect, opined that the arrest by the EFCC was aimed at halting the alleged ongoing looting of state funds.

According to him, the attention of the Edo State Governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has been drawn to a misleading publication circulating on social media that links him to the recent arrest of the Edo State Accountant General, Mr. Julius Anelu, and four others by the EFCC.

“Our investigation has revealed that this baseless publication, filled with assumptions and lacking fundamental facts, was concocted by members of the PDP and associates of the outgoing administration under Governor Obaseki.

“In the publication, the author falsely accused the Governor-elect of using the EFCC to intimidate officials of Governor Obaseki’s administration, whose tenure is set to end on November 12.

“It is evident that the PDP and members of Governor Obaseki’s outgoing administration are experiencing severe post-election defeat trauma, which has apparently led to illogical, absurd, and unfounded reactions from them.

“For the avoidance of doubt and to inform the general public, the Governor-elect, like every citizen of Edo, learned about the arrests of Mr. Julius Anelu and other state officials through media reports. The arrests by the EFCC reportedly aim to forestall last-minute withdrawals from the state’s accounts.

“It is worth recalling that just over a week ago, through a press statement, we alerted the public and relevant security agencies to ongoing looting of funds and theft of government properties at the Government House in Benin and across various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

“With the recent EFCC intervention and the arrest of key officials who are signatories to government accounts, Edo people can now better understand the extent of the looting spree within the Government House and MDAs in Edo State,” he said.

Edo: Gov-elect Okpebholo dissociates self from arrest of Accountant General, others by EFCC