Ex-Gov Timipre Sylva Breaks Silence After EFCC Declared Him Wanted: "Calculated Political Onslaught"
- Timipre Sylva described the EFCC’s wanted notice as a calculated political onslaught insisting he is innocent of all allegations
- His media aide Julius Bokoru accused the EFCC of acting without due process and described the move as politically motivated
- Sylva vowed to honour the EFCC invitation after his medical check-up in the United Kingdom and maintained his conscience is clear
Former Bayelsa state governor and ex-Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has described the decision by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to declare him wanted as a “calculated political onslaught”, insisting he remains innocent of all allegations.
EFCC accused of acting without due process
Source: Twitter
The EFCC had on Monday, 10 November, announced via its official X handle that Sylva was wanted in connection with an alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion of over $14.8 million belonging to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
In a strongly worded statement signed by his media aide, Julius Bokoru, Sylva faulted the manner in which the EFCC made the announcement, saying it was “unprocedural and politically motivated.”
“The EFCC on Monday took to social media to announce, quite unceremoniously, that it had declared Chief Timipre Sylva wanted. No formal communication was extended to him, no established protocol observed, only a sudden digital proclamation designed to inflame public sentiment,” Bokoru said.
Sylva's aide: “A theatre of persecution”
Bokoru described the EFCC’s actions as part of a broader attempt to tarnish Sylva’s reputation and weaken his political influence.
“Chief Timipre Sylva remains, without equivocation, the target of a coordinated and calculated political onslaught. These are no coincidences; they are deliberate machinations of those who dread Sylva’s enduring political relevance and moral resolve,” he added.
The statement likened the former governor’s current situation to the “trials of Job in Holy Scripture,” stressing that each accusation against him was “discredited only for another to appear.”
Sylva to honour EFCC invitation after medical check-up
Bokoru clarified that Sylva had not ignored the EFCC’s invitation and would cooperate fully with lawful authorities once he completed his medical check-up in the United Kingdom.
“Chief Sylva will, in line with his respect for lawful institutions and due process, honour the invitation of the EFCC once he concludes his ongoing medical check-up in the United Kingdom,” he stated.
Sylva: “Clean hands and clear conscience”
Source: Facebook
The statement further maintained that Sylva had never diverted any funds and that the refinery project at the centre of the allegations was “legitimate, transparent, and verifiable.”
“Chief Timipre Sylva has clean hands. He has not diverted a single dollar, nor has he betrayed the trust reposed in him by the Nigerian people. The refinery project in question is subject to due process and traceable documentation,” Bokoru asserted.
Bokoru ended the statement on a note of optimism, expressing confidence that the “campaign of defamation” against Sylva would fail.
“Those engineering this relentless campaign will not prevail, for light, by its very nature, must always outshine darkness,” he concluded.
The EFCC, however, has not yet issued any official response to Sylva’s remarks.
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