The Kogi state house of assembly have called for the immediate sack of the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, declaring his handling of the corruption case against Yahaya Bello, a former governor of the state as “unprofessional.”
The assembly also condemned what they described as the EFCC operatives’ attack on the Kogi State Government Lodge, saying it was an attack on the Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, and the entirety of the Kogi people.
The lawmakers alleged the EFCC made an assassination attempt on the former governor and the incumbent, stressing that the persecution of the former governor had gone on for too long and must stop.
A member of the house, Honourable Bode Ogunmola, Ogori/Magongo State Constituency (PDP), said, “If I am in London and there is a crisis, if I get to the Nigerian House, I will feel safe. If I am in Abuja and there is a crisis, I believe that if I get to the Kogi Lodge, I will be safe. For the EFCC Chairman to order that fire be opened on the official lodge of the Governor, he should be sacked and prosecuted. We should be told why he wants to kill our Governor.”
Hon Yahaya Umar, representing Omala State Constituency said, “The unlawful conducts of the EFCC shows that the intention of the chairman is not to arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello, but to ridicule the state.
“The chronology of how the event happened shows that the problem of the chairman is not with the offences being alleged, but that they want to disgrace the defendant and Kogi State in general.”
On her part, the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Comfort Nwuchiola Egwaba, stated, “The EFCC is just trying to give the former Governor a bad name through their media trial. The EFCC is not sincere in this fight. It has an agenda it is pursuing and the entire people of the state, particularly the women and youths, will not accept this.”
The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Yusuf, who read out the resolution of the House, stated, “The House formally categorizes the April 17 and September 18 incidents as assassination attempts on the former Governor, and by extension, a threat to the life of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.
“The unprovoked attack on the Governor’s Lodge and the firing of live rounds within a diplomatic residential zone further demonstrate that the EFCC has fully marinated in a sense of its own importance and power and now considers itself not only above the law but unanswerable to anyone or institution for its actions.”
“Because the EFCC Chairman has shown constantly, gross incompetence, the House has resolved that the President should relieve him of his appointment with immediate effect and replace him with a competent officer who will give Mr. President’s crusade for rule of law the needed effectiveness,” the lawmakers demanded in their resolution
