Former Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, is currently on the watch list of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This comes as we learned that the anti-graft agency has launched an investigation into various transactions, including contracts awarded during Obaseki’s tenure as governor.
Obaseki, who completed his eight-year term on November 12, had previously stated that the EFCC intended to arrest him soon after he left office.
His successor, Monday Okpebholo, has since established a 14-member State Assets Verification Committee to scrutinize Obaseki’s time in office.
In a related development, the EFCC on November 2 arrested five Edo government officials who served under Obaseki, including the Accountant General, Julius Anelu, over large withdrawals from the state treasury within a short period.
Despite the ongoing investigations, Obaseki, on November 8, expressed that he was not afraid of being probed by the EFCC. He added that he would be willing to cooperate fully with the agency and account for his tenure.
However, top sources within the EFCC, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, revealed that so far, the majority of the transactions under Obaseki’s administration have not been directly linked to him.
According to one of the sources: “An investigation has commenced on his administration. He can’t just be invited until the work has got to a certain stage. Some team of crack investigators have been assigned to the case and have been trying to unravel some of the transactions, including contracts awarded under his administration.
“The bulk of the transactions, you can’t trace it to him. He made use of others. There have been leads which we have been following and we hope to get something substantial.”
When asked if Obaseki had been placed on the watch list, another source clarified that while Obaseki is part of the ongoing monitoring, all former governors are routinely watch-listed by the commission.
“All former governors are always on the commission’s watch list whether the commission has something with the fellow or not. We are not going to allow them to jet out of the country and then start going after them when we need them. So that is why we always place all of them on our watch list,” the source explained.
Efforts to reach the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, for comment were unsuccessful, as calls to his phone went unanswered. He had also not responded to a text message sent on the matter at the time of filing this report.
