EFCC Seizes Ifeanyi Okowa’s Passport, Ex-Governors In Panic Mood

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s seizure of former Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa’s passport may be the stirring of the hornet’s nest.

Okowa was arrested by the anti-graft agency on November 4, 2024, over an alleged diversion of N1.3tn derivation fund, and the arrest followed by yesterday’s seizure of his passport is sending jitters down the spine of other ex-governors.

This is especially against the backdrop of similar arrests of erstwhile governors in similar or related circumstances.

For example, the EFCC last month took in former governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, over an alleged fraud of N27bn.

A15-count charge was promptly slammed on his head, while about the same period, an intriguing scenario, played out between the commission and the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

Operatives of the EFCC, who had before then, been lying in wait for him even as he stayed in hiding swooped stormed the Kogi State Government Lodge in the Asokoro area of Abuja.

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Aside seizure of Ifeanyi Okowa’s passport, the long-standing stance of the commission to the ex-governors and corrupt practices particularly, and the recent have put fears in ex-governors that it would be their turn next.

Okowa’s is alleged to have diverted N1.3trn amounted, which is 13 per cent derivation fund from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

He also allegedly refused to to render accounts of N40bn he allegedly used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas.

Okowa also allegedly bought shares of N40bn in one of the major banks in the country, representing eight per cent equity to float the offshore LNG.

However, Okowa has shaken off fears of going to visit the commission, as according to him, he would come out clean.

“It was a petition written several months ago, but unfortunately, with the politics of our time, some people decided to ensure that Okowa must be invited by the EFCC”, he stated, via a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifejika.

“People are genuinely uncomfortable about Okowa and I was actually invited and I went there by myself and the first thing I saw was that they said I misappropriated N1.3tn. I said, do you know the kind of money you are talking about?

“To successfully take N1.3tn, it means you have to be taking between N16bn and N20bn every month into your pocket.

“I don’t even know if the President of this country will be able to do that, not to talk of the governor of Delta State.

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“They have forgotten that the first in three years we came into office – 2015, 2016 and 2017 – the money that was coming into the state was not even enough to pay salaries at all.

“Some local governments like Ethiope East were owing as much as 15 months salaries and even in the state here, some people were getting half salaries.

“Delta State is the highest salary-paying state in this nation; our salaries grew to the level that