Panic has gripped top officials of the outgoing Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, following the arrest of key members of the finance department of the administration by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
A report said EFCC officials arrested the state’s Accountant General, Mr Julius Anelu, and other signatories to the state’s government accounts.
The report by Daily Trust claimed that the five state government officials, reportedly arrested on Thursday, were being held at the Benin office of the agency.
It was also gathered that the officials were arrested apparently to forestall last-minute withdrawal from the state account after a hurriedly passed supplementary budget by the Edo State House of Assembly, just two weeks before the inauguration of the new government.
The source said with the arrest, government activities had been halted, as the state was unable to pay emoluments due to civil servants, pensions, and other public servants.
He added that other statutory payments such as security bills and other obligations were also affected.
According to the source, the commission intends to keep the arrested officials till November 12, when the tenure of the outgoing government would end.
The report said EFCC spokesman in Edo State, Williams Oseghale, directed questions about the fate of officials to the Commission’s Public Relations Officer, Dele Oyewale.
“When contacted on the phone, Oyewale requested our correspondent to send a text message.
Text messages were sent to Oyewale’s WhatsApp number and his line as an SMS, but he had yet to respond as of the time of filing this report respond as of the time of filing this report.
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