Concerned by the need to strengthen law enforcement institutions towards performing their constitutional duties to Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu has reportedly expressed displeasure over how the Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo, had allegedly being shielding his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, from honouring invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over N80.2 billion allegations hanging on his administration’s management of public funds in the state.
Tinubu, as gathered, considered the drama playing out between the EFCC, Bello and Ododo as a bad taste for democracy and further draws globally attention to the country’s ability to enforce the law through its institutions.
The president was said to have expressed his displeasure after returning to the country from his trip to China on discovering that Bello was still being allegedly shielded by Ododo despite asking that the governor act in accordance with the law which he sworn to as the governor of Kogi state.
As learnt, Tinubu did not want to get involved in the matter even though both Bello and Ododo were members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) rather has decided to allow the anti-graft agency perform its duties as stipulated by law, informing some aides and party members to advise the former Kogi governor to toe the path of other public officeholders before him that have honoured the anti-corruption agency’s invitation.
A Special Adviser, who is privy to the president’s warning, disclosed on Tuesday that the President’s concerns were that the issues EFCC raised against Bello does not required that the former governor goes into hiding if truly he was innocent as rightly claimed earlier.
She noted that the president’s concern were that any public officeholder invited over alleged misappropriation should honour it and state his own side of the issue, presenting documents that could exonerate him from it.
“This is what the President expected the Kogi state former governor to do and after stating his own side of the issue, if not allowed to leave, he has right to approach the court where all matters will be laid and the court will decide fate of both EFCC and the former governor.
“The president also expected that the incumbent governor, who had sworn to uphold law and order particularly within his state, would have advised Bello to take the honorary path rather than allegedly aiding the unnecessary drama and confrontation with the law enforcement agency”.
Another aide, who preferred to speak on anonymity to The Guild, stated that the president was angry that a simple issue had become a public drama, saying this is not what we expected from both Bello and Ododo.
He noted that rather than confronting the law enforcement agency over invitation, the former governor could have earned the public trust by honouring the EFCC invitation and allowed his successor, Ododo, and other supporters to accompany him as well as the lawyers and not allegedly shielding him while the predecessor contravene the law.
“What some Nigerians and Bello’s loyalist had been expecting from the president is to stop EFCC from performing its function. But they have forgotten that the president sworn to defend the law and cannot stop a law enforcement agency, EFCC, from doing its work because this is one of the institution’s that will help to strengthen the country’s democracy.
Also, another female aide to the President office noted that the stance of the President had been that no public officeholder should shield illegality and ridicule institutions that were empowered to enforce law and order.
She stated that Bello would not be the last public officeholder that would be invited by anti-graft agency over alleged wrong doing, adding “Most past governors and other public officeholders have appeared before the agency and we have seen how some of them were left off the hook through the court.
“Bello will not be the first former governor neither will he be the last; Ododo and Bello cannot continue stopping EFCC from doing their job.
The entire drama is making the country a lawless nation. And it is a pity that we are not under Military administration where the Head of State can solely order the arrest and prosecution of an individual. This is democracy; the president does not have power to give such orders”.
The Presidency’s stance came amid reactions from legal practitioners, human activists and others condemning the former Governor, Bello, refusal to honour EFCC’s invitation on the ground that it affects image of the nation.
They noted that all that EFCC has against Bello were allegations that could be dispelled, saying if the governor had nothing to hide, he should visit and take a cue from the Ekiti State former governor, Ayodele Fayose, who presented himself before the anti-graft agency without noise.
A renowned legal practitioner, Adeyemi Sulaimon, faulted Governor Ododo for allegedly acting against the law that he sworn to protect, saying it is an abuse of privilege that a governor will be allegedly aiding a suspect to evade arrest which should have been the other way round.
Sulaimon cautioned the governor to consider consequences of his actions especially legal implications that may arise after leaving office as governor.
“If the incumbent governor is truly allegedly shielding former governor Yahaya Bello, then what he is doing is a criminal offense that can be used against him after leaving office as governor”.
The convener of Patriotisms Awareness Forum (PAF), Nelson Ekujumi, meanwhile, urged Ododo to immediately distance himself from Bello to avoid legal consequences.
Ekujumi noted that whatever is the case, the court is available for anyone to free himself from any allegations made by law enforcement agency.
Meanwhile, efforts to get media aides to both Governor Ododo and his predecessor, Bello, proved abortive as calls and Short Messages sent to their lines were neither returned nor message responded to.
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