Breaking: EFCC Summons Wanted Ex-Minister Shortly After He Dumped APC
- The EFCC responded after Sylva resigned from the APC and accused the commission of acting as an organ of the ruling party
- Sylva, who has been declared wanted over an alleged $14.86m fraud, copied the EFCC in his resignation letter citing fears of further investigation
- The former Bayelsa governor also faces a 13-count federal charge linked to an alleged plot against President Tinubu's administration
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has told former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva to present himself for questioning, hours after he publicly accused the anti-graft agency of doing the bidding of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale issued the short but direct response on Monday, August 31, 2026, after Sylva announced his resignation from the APC and copied the commission in his resignation letter.
Source: Twitter
"He has been declared wanted; he should make himself available to the commission," Oyewale said.
Sylva quits APC, takes aim at EFCC
In his resignation letter, addressed to the APC chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and delivered electronically, Sylva said he could no longer remain in a party whose leaders believed "all is fair in politics."
The letter was also copied to the APC national chairman, the Bayelsa APC chairman, and the EFCC executive chairman.
Sylva, a founding member of the APC who also served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under former President Muhammadu Buhari, said he decided to quit after consulting family members, associates, and colleagues.
He described the party as "a floundering ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities."
On the EFCC, he wrote:
"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. I am fully aware that this action of mine may invite a redoubled witch-hunt against me and my associates, but that is a risk I am willing to take."
He also criticised the Tinubu administration, writing that "the present Government, formed under the banner of the APC we once loved, has disappointed the vast majority of Nigerians."
Fraud allegations and federal charges
The EFCC declared Sylva wanted in November 2025 over an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion involving $14,859,257.
Separately, he is listed as a defendant in a 13-count federal charge covering allegations of treason, terrorism-related offences, conspiracy, and money laundering connected to an alleged plot against President Bola Tinubu's administration.
Investigators have reportedly identified Sylva as an alleged principal financier of the plot, linking about N785 million to him through a company called Purple Waves Limited, based in Abuja.
In May 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim forfeiture order over nine properties connected to him following an EFCC application.
In July 2026, the Department of State Services arraigned five of Sylva's associates for allegedly concealing his whereabouts.
They pleaded not guilty and were granted bail.
Reports suggest Sylva left Nigeria after details of the investigation became public and shelved plans to return after learning of a raid on his Abuja home.
He has denied involvement in the alleged plot. No conviction has been recorded against him.
Sylva served as Bayelsa governor from 2007 to 2012, with his tenure interrupted by court rulings.
Sylvia dumps APC
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Timipre Sylva, a founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Bayelsa state, resigned from the ruling party, citing the betrayal of the values that drove its creation.
Sylva addressed his resignation letter to the APC ward chairman in Ward 4, Brass Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa state, on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Source: Legit.ng
