EFCC Summons Timipre Sylva for Questioning Hours After APC Resignation

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, to report to the commission for questioning over an alleged $14.86 million fraud.

The development came just hours after Sylva announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the party’s leadership of abandoning its founding principles.

EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed on Monday that the former governor had been declared wanted by the anti-graft agency and urged him to make himself available for questioning.

“He has been declared wanted; he should make himself available to the commission,” Oyewale said.

The EFCC’s invitation follows an ongoing investigation involving the former governor over alleged financial crimes. Sylva has previously denied wrongdoing and described the actions against him as politically motivated.

Sylva Resigns From APC

Sylva announced his resignation from the APC on Monday, submitting his resignation letter electronically to the chairman of his local ward, while copying the party’s national leadership, state executives and the EFCC.

In the letter, the former petroleum minister said his decision followed consultations with his family members, associates and supporters.

He expressed disappointment over what he described as the departure of the APC from the ideals upon which it was founded.

“As a founding member of the APC, and one who joined other well-meaning Nigerians in building the Party with sweat and money, it is deeply saddening to witness how the ideals we espoused have been so thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted,” Sylva stated.

He further criticised the administration formed under the APC, saying it had disappointed a large section of Nigerians and that he could see neither a credible attempt nor the possibility of reviving the party.

Sylva Accuses EFCC of Political Targeting

The former governor also made a direct reference to the EFCC in his resignation letter, explaining why he deliberately copied the commission.

Sylva accused the anti-graft agency of increasingly acting as an arm of the ruling party rather than as an independent state institution.

“I am deliberately putting the EFCC in copy of this letter because, of late, it has conducted itself more as an organ of the APC than as an institution of State,” he wrote.

He acknowledged that his criticism could expose him and his associates to further investigation, but said he was prepared to face the consequences.

The former governor has faced legal and investigative scrutiny over allegations involving millions of dollars. He has maintained his innocence and rejected the allegations against him.

The latest development has added a new dimension to Sylva’s political departure from the APC, with the former governor now expected to respond to the EFCC’s demand that he make himself available for questioning.