Okpebholo washes hands off EFCC’s arrest of Edo Accountant-General, others

Edo State governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has dismissed any allegations linking him to the recent detention of the state’s Accountant-General, Julius Anelu, and four other top officials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Reports confirm that the EFCC detained the five Edo State officials, including Anelu, who are signatories on government accounts, at the agency’s Benin office.

The arrests reportedly took place on Thursday, following a summons by the EFCC, with the intention of addressing concerns over potential last-minute withdrawals of state funds by the outgoing administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

In a statement from his media aide, Goodwill Inegbe, Okpebholo condemned what he called “baseless” allegations tying him to the EFCC’s actions, attributing them to discontented members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) upset by their recent loss in the state’s September 21 governorship election. Okpebholo stated, “The attention of the Edo State governor-elect has been drawn to a misleading publication circulating on social media, falsely linking him to the recent arrest of the Edo State accountant-general, Mr. Julius Anelu, and four others by the EFCC.”

The statement went on to say that the publication lacked factual basis and was “concocted by members of the PDP and associates of the outgoing administration under Governor Obaseki,” suggesting that the claims were a reaction to their election loss. Okpebholo added that he, like other citizens of Edo, learned about the arrests through the media.

The statement also revisited a recent warning by Okpebholo’s team, issued just over a week ago, highlighting concerns over alleged looting and unauthorized withdrawals of state funds. “It is worth recalling that we alerted the public and relevant security agencies to the ongoing looting of funds and theft of government properties at the Government House in Benin and across various ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).”

Okpebholo’s team emphasized that he has no influence over the EFCC’s actions, underscoring that the agency’s actions were solely to safeguard Edo’s resources in the transitional period leading up to the end of Obaseki’s administration on November 12.