By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Oyo State
The state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatubosun made this known in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan on the last Friday arrest and release (on Monday) of the Accountant General by the EFCC
Dr Olatubosun stressed in the statement that the continued harassment of the Accountant General and its other officials by EFCC ” is totally unconstitutional and unacceptable and is being contested in a court of competent jurisdiction.
” EFCC and its officials have, since last year been mounting pressure on Oyo State and its officials to provide documents regarding disbursements and expenditure of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, Contingencies Fund and Security Vote lawfully approved and passed into Appropriation Law of Oyo State by the Oyo State House of Assembly”, he said
Dr Olatubosun added, ” this is despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Nigeria has decided in a long line of cases that the EFCC lacks the powers to prosecute issues that are not corruption cases”.
” We would like to put it on record that by virtue of Section 128 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, unless and until the Oyo State House of Assembly reports or exposes any corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it to the Executive Governor of Oyo State and Commissioner for Finance, Section 6 (h) of the EFCC Establishment Act 2004 (as amended) cannot be triggered”.
The Commissioner maintained that ” Oyo State House of Assembly has not made any such reports and thus the actions so far by the EFCC and the EFCC Chairman are unconstitutional and ultra-vires”.
He stated that in line with this conviction, the Oyo State Government had approached the Federal High Court, in the Ibadan Judicial Division on February 8, 2022, for declaratory reliefs and to among other things, issue an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants (1. Attorney General of the Federation; 2. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; 3. President of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria and 4. The Chairman EFCC) their functionaries or agencies or whosoever from interfering with the activities of any government officials in Oyo State (i.e. any public officer or functionary or officer or servant of the government of Oyo State) in the exercise of powers purported to be conferred by or under the provisions of the EFCC Act, 2004 with relation to the expenditure and or spending of the Oyo State Government or security votes as vested in the Governor of Oyo State”.
The Commissioner stressed further that ” EFCC had brazenly refused service of the processes at the Abuja Head Office for reasons unknown to the law but as of today, March 1, 2022, at the hearing in Ibadan, Hon Justice N. Agomoh directed the EFCC to accept service of the Oyo State Government originating processes and pending applications in the full glare of the Court.”, adding, ” the trial Judge also ordered that all forms of arrest and intimidation by the EFCC should cease. The case has been adjourned to the March 9, 2022 for the hearing of all applications”.
Emphasising that the arrest of the Oyo State Accountant General on Friday, February 25, 2022, was a ” desperate and malicious attempt at thwarting a constitutional process that had already been instituted at the Federal High Court, Ibadan, with a hearing date of Monday, March 1, 2022, ” the Commissioner said Oyo state government ” refuses to be intimidated, cowed or distracted from its one goal of providing good governance”.
“His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, remains committed to fidelity, accountability, integrity, transparency and honesty which has been the hallmark of this administration since its inception on May 29, 2019 and urges the good people of Oyo State to remain undeterred as this is just another in the series of hurdles that they and indeed all right-thinking Nigerians as a whole must cross in their determination to rescue Nigeria.
