Edo accountant general in EFCC custody over large withdrawals
By Jeffrey Agbo
Accountant General of Edo State, Julius Anelu, and two other government officials have been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
They were taken into custody following suspicion about the large sums of money withdrawn from the state’s account in the twilight of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration.
Out of N24.6bn paid into the government’s account, about N14bn was left just weeks after the money was deposited, an EFCC source told PUNCH.
“The amounts withdrawn were huge sums. For instance, about some weeks ago, N24.6bn was paid into that account. But in less than one week, about N14bn was remaining in the account,” said the source.
READ ALSO:
Oshiomhole counters Akpabio, insists he didn’t ‘bring Obaseki in’ as Edo gov
Also, the source in the anti-graft agency was quoted as saying that the EFCC has been investigating the Edo governor since 2022.
Last month, Edo State Governor-elect, Monday Okpebholo, accused the Obaseki administration of “last-minute borrowings and looting.”
In a statement he issued on October 16, Okpebholo, called on relevant authorities including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, police and Department of State Services to investigate the allegations.
On Thursday, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, urged Okpebholo to focus on governance and quit picking a quarrel with Obaseki.
Ganduje appealed when he received a delegation of the Edo APC led by Okpebholo, who came to the party secretariat in Abuja on a ‘thank you’ visit.
