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Nigeria's anti-graft agency, EFCC, has said on Monday that Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State will face criminal trial after leaving office, Premium Times reports.

Mr Fayose, a vocal critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, is expected to leave office in October after handing over to the governor-elect of the state, Kayode Fayemi.


Mr Fayemi on Sunday defeated Mr Fayose’s preferred governorship candidate and current deputy governor, Olusola Eleka.

Both Messrs Fayose and Eleka, as well as their party, PDP, have said they will challenge the results of the election in court.

Hours after Mr Fayemi was announced winner of the election, the EFCC posted a tweet on its official Twitter handle that it would resurrect a poultry scandal involving the governor. The agency later deleted the tweet which was condemned by many Nigerians including the governor’s spokesperson.

“That tweet was totally irresponsible,” Mr Fayose’s spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, said. “The EFCC is not the court.”

“Ayo Fayose will remain governor until October 16, so they should wait until the end of his tenure,” he added.

Mr Fayose, like all Nigerian governors, enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office.

In a statement sent on Monday night, the EFCC spokesperson played down on the tweet controversy, but said only the court could clear Mr Fayose of his criminal trial after leaving office.

“While it is true that there is a subsisting criminal charge against Governor Fayose, the fate of the charge will be determined by the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, at the expiration of his tenure, not the EFCC,” the agency’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said.

Read the full EFCC statement by Mr Uwujaren below.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has observed with interest, reactions to a tweet that purportedly appeared on the Commission’s Twitter handle July 15, announcing the imminent revival of the criminal case against Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.

In the opinion of most commentators, the tweet coming a few hours after Fayose’s protege, Kolapo Olusola of the People’s Democratic Party lost the governorship election to his All progressives Congress rival, Kayode Fayemi, betrayed the partisanship of the EFCC in the political contest in Ekiti State.

Against the background, Commission is constrained to state that the purported tweet does not represent the views of the EFCC. As a law enforcement organization the Commission is apolitical and was not involved in the recent Ekiti election. It therefore has no reason to gloat over the political misfortune of any candidate or political god-father.

While it is true that there is a subsisting criminal charge against Governor Fayose, the fate of the charge will be determined by the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, at the expiration of his tenure, not the EFCC.

https://lailasnews.com/fayose-will-face-trial-after-leaving-office-efcc/

lalasticlala

This is an evidence that Efcc is a political tool against opposition

EFCC is working for APC. Very glaring....

If his hands are clean my brother no worries

tashashiel:
This is an evidence that Efcc is a political tool against opposition

You keep shouting evidence up and down

You didn't know he was enjoying immunity ? as far as i can tell Obanikoro returned about 1Billion and he slept in DSS dungeon then in EFCC cell

he made a deal and i heard he decamped to APC ... bottom line remains try not to follow the crowd , if you are indeed a woman, you need to learn to use your brain

We sane Nigerians supports this move. Ipigs may have a contrary opinion though

Like Fela sang..”amen amen amen”

In a sane society fowloshe suppose to be jailed.after owning 8months salary ,what has he really done for ekiti people apart from the monstrous substandard obstruction he called flyover

RevenGeMission:
You keep shouting evidence up and down

You didn't know he was enjoying immunity ? as far as i can tell Obanikoro returned about 1Billion and he slept in DSS dungeon then in EFCC cell

he made a deal and i heard he decamped to APC ... bottom line remains try not to follow the crowd , if you are indeed a woman, you need to learn to use your brain

and in your mind you made a sensible statement??
Abeg face wetin face you and stay out of this