Politics

Fayose Will Face Trial After Leaving Office – EFCC Reveals In New Statement

Published

6 years ago

July 17, 2018

Governor Ayodele Fayose who is a vocal critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, will face criminal trial after leaving office, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have said.
Influential politician and Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, who is expected to leave office in October after handing over to the governor-elect of the state, Kayode Fayemi, will face criminal trial after leaving office, EFCC said in a statement on Monday.

Recall that few hours after Kayode Fayemi was announced winner of the Ekiti guber election, the EFCC posted a tweet on its official Twitter handle that it would resurrect a poultry scandal involving the governor.

The anti-graft agency later deleted the tweet which was condemned by many Nigerians including the governor’s spokesperson.

Meanwhile, in a statement sent to PREMIUM Times on Monday night, the EFCC spokesperson played down on the tweet controversy, but said only the court could clear Fayose of his criminal trial after leaving office.

“While it is true that there is a subsisting criminal charge against Governor Fayose, the fate of the charge will be determined by the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, at the expiration of his tenure, not the EFCC,” the agency’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said.

Read the full EFCC statement by Uwujaren below:

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has observed with interest, reactions to a tweet that purportedly appeared on the Commission’s Twitter handle July 15, announcing the imminent revival of the criminal case against Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.

In the opinion of most commentators, the tweet coming a few hours after Fayose’s protege, Kolapo Olusola of the People’s Democratic Party lost the governorship election to his All progressives Congress rival, Kayode Fayemi, betrayed the partisanship of the EFCC in the political contest in Ekiti State.

Against the background, Commission is constrained to state that the purported tweet does not represent the views of the EFCC. As a law enforcement organization the Commission is apolitical and was not involved in the recent Ekiti election. It therefore has no reason to gloat over the political misfortune of any candidate or political god-father.

While it is true that there is a subsisting criminal charge against Governor Fayose, the fate of the charge will be determined by the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, at the expiration of his tenure, not the EFCC.”