Okowa: I’m not afraid of investigation… EFCC invitation politically motivated

Ifeanyi Okowa, former governor of Delta state, says he is not afraid of being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

On November 4, operatives of the anti-graft agency arrested Okowa over an alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion.

In June, Edwin Clark, convener of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), alleged that Okowa misappropriated the state’s derivation fund to the tune of N1.760 trillion.

Speaking with a political group in Delta on Thursday, Okowa said funds belonging to the state were “judiciously used” during his tenure.

“Whatever that is going on, I am not worried, and I have spoken about it. I am not afraid to be investigated,” Okowa said.

“I may not be a saint, but I know I stepped in there as governor with a full hope and desire to help people to give the best for ourselves in this state within the limit of our resources.

“I still remember that we had a very difficult two and half years — from May 29, 2015 to end of September 2017 — where every resource of the state put together could not pay salaries.

“We had to sit down with the workers who agreed to receive half of their salaries for two and half years. We did that. When things improved in 2018, we started to pay the backlog of salaries and pensions.

“When I was invited to the EFCC, I knew it was political. I had known that it was political before I even came back. When I went oversees for holidays, they had already written that I had been detained for three days.

“Meanwhile I hadn’t been invited by the EFCC. They were preparing the ground for a media trial.

“I’m not afraid of the media trial because the truth will come out. Neither am I afraid of the investigation because I know we did the best we could within the limits of human ability.”

Last week, Olisa Ifeajika, former chief press secretary to Okowa, said the claims against the ex-governor are “gross misrepresentations and distortions of the facts”.

Okowa, who was governor of Delta from 2015 to 2023, was Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election.