The lawmakers accused the EFCC of assassination attempt on the former Governor and the incumbent, stressing that the persecution of the former governor had gone on for too long and must stop.
Hon. Akus said the EFCC was out to humiliate and possibly kill the present and former governors. His colleagues all supported this.
Hon. Abu Jibril of Ajaokuta State specifically said the EFCC boss should be prosecuted for allegedly attempting to kill the governor. He called on President Bola Tinubu to remove him immediately.
According to him, EFCC’s conduct shows that the chairman is incapable of leading a supposed impartial agency like the EFCC.
“The Chairman has shown incompetence that warrants his removal,” he said.
Hon Bode Ogunmola, Ogori/Magongo State Constituency (PDP), said, “If I am in London and there is a crisis, if I get to the Nigerian House, I will feel safe. If I am in Abuja and there is a crisis, I believe that if I get to the Kogi Lodge, I will be safe. For the EFCC Chairman to order that fire be opened on the official lodge of the Governor, he should be sacked and prosecuted. We should be told why he wants to kill our Governor.”
The Majority Leader of the House of Assembly, Hon. Suleiman AbdulRazak, alleged that officials of the EFCC were begging the former Governor to let them pretend as if he was arrested.
He said it was an embarrassing act, which showed that the anti-graft agency was acting a script written by some political enemies of the former Governor.
The lawmaker, therefore, said the President should be notified of the assassination attempt on the present and former Governor; adding that the whole drama was a show to embarrass the former Governor.
He concluded that, on the fateful night, a coup attempt was committed at the Kogi State Governor’s Lodge and called on the President to immediately remove the EFCC Chairman to save the nation from further embarrassment.
The lawmakers concluded that the EFCC had an agenda different from the fight against corruption, which had been revealed by the way the Commission approached the issue of arrest.
This, they said, must be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians.
Hon Yahaya Umar, representing Omala State Constituency said, “The unlawful conducts of the EFCC show that the intention of the chairman is not to arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello, but to ridicule the state.
“The chronology of how the event happened shows that the problem of the chairman is not with the offences being alleged, but that they want to disgrace the defendant and Kogi State in general.”
On her part, the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Comfort Nwuchiola Egwaba, stated, “The EFCC is just trying to give the former Governor a bad name through their media trial. The EFCC is not sincere in this fight. It has an agenda it is pursuing and the entire people of the state, particularly the women and youths, will not accept this.”
In the same vein, the Kogi State House of Assembly also passed a resolution, commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for his economic policies which are aimed at building a strong and virile economy that will be the envy of all.
The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Yusuf, who read out the resolution of the House, stated, “The House formally categorizes the April 17 and September 18 incidents as assassination attempts on the former Governor, and by extension, a threat to the life of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.
“Because the EFCC Chairman has shown constantly, gross incompetence, the House has resolved that the President should relieve him of his appointment with immediate effect and replace him with a competent officer who will give Mr. President’s crusade for rule of law the needed effectiveness,” the lawmakers demanded in their resolution.