The Federal Government, on Friday, issued a statement declaring that no politician who defects to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will be spared from ongoing or future corruption investigations.
This position was clearly noted by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, through a press statement shared by his media assistant, Mr. Kamarudeen Ogundele.
According to the AGF, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is committed to upholding justice and enforcing the law regardless of the political affiliation of the individuals involved.
Fagbemi was responding to recent allegations made by Mr. Paul Ibe, spokesperson to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election.
Ibe, during a televised interview, claimed that officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Ministry of Justice held a secret meeting with a former and a serving governor from a South-South state shortly before they switched parties to the APC.
Reacting to the claim, the AGF described it as “contemptuous” and “a fabrication with no basis in truth.” He added, “Though names were not mentioned, it is obvious who Mr. Ibe was alluding to. However, we wish to state categorically that the allegation is from the pit of hell and at best, a figment of Mr. Ibe’s imagination.”
He further noted, “We know for a fact that the EFCC Chairman and the Solicitor-General of the Federation have not met with any governor—past or present—as suggested.”
The AGF urged Nigerians to ignore the allegation, saying it was a deliberate effort to discredit President Tinubu’s anti-corruption agenda. “The fight against corruption is not selective and will not be compromised by political moves or party switches,” the statement added.
In a separate reaction, the EFCC also dismissed Ibe’s claims. Its spokesperson, Mr. Dele Oyewale, issued a rebuttal stating that the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, never held any meeting with the unnamed politicians mentioned in the allegation.
The EFCC noted that Ibe, during the May 22 television interview, presented various conspiracy theories and assumptions tied to political defections. The Commission said the claim that its leadership secretly met with a governor prior to defection was “completely false and cooked up.”
Olukoyede, according to the EFCC, has consistently noted that the agency remains apolitical and is not influenced by party interests. “The public is advised to disregard the alleged meeting. It exists only in the imagination of Mr. Ibe,” the EFCC concluded.
