By Luminous Jannamike & Emem Idio
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has declared former Minister of Petroleum Resources and ex-governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, wanted over an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14.8 million, belonging to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB.
Meanwhile, Julius Bokoru, Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to Sylva, has described the EFCC’s declaration as a “coordinated political onslaught” aimed at tarnishing Sylva’s reputation.“
Also, the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Worldwide, has expressed reservations with the EFCC for declaring Sylva wanted.
EFCC in a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the funds were part of an investment made by the NCDMB into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery, which was allegedly diverted.
The commission said it had obtained a warrant of arrest from a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on November 6, 2025, to arrest and interrogate Sylva over the alleged crime. The warrant was issued by Justice D. Dipeolu.
The commission called on members of the public to support law enforcement efforts by providing credible information that could lead to Sylva’s arrest.
“The commission also enjoins anyone with useful information on his whereabouts to contact any of its Zonal Directorates across the country or the nearest Police Station and other security agencies,” Oyewale added.
It’s coordinated political onslaught —AIDE
Bokoru in a statement, yesterday, said: “The EFCC on Monday took to social media to announce, quite unceremoniously, that it had declared Sylva wanted.
No formal communication was extended to him, no established protocol observed, only a sudden digital proclamation designed, it would seem, to inflame public sentiment and manufacture yet another episode of orchestrated hostility.
“It is, to say the least, curious that what was once whispered in corridors as a “coup matter” has now quietly metamorphosed into a financial allegation. The same shadowy forces that once sought to criminalise Sylva politically now appear to have reinvented themselves as fiscal crusaders. There must, undoubtedly, be an explanation for this cinematic transition, from rumour to reinvention, from one carefully scripted accusation to another.
“Chief Sylva remains, without equivocation, the target of a coordinated and calculated political onslaught. His recent travails bear an uncanny resemblance to the trials of Job in Holy Scripture, each ordeal arriving with near-mathematical precision, each accusation discredited only for another to appear. These are no coincidences; they are the deliberate machinations of those who dread Sylva’s enduring political relevance and moral resolve.
“For clarity, I have not been in direct communication with Chief Sylva. However, from available information and from prior official briefings, it is important to restate that Chief Sylva will, in line with his respect for lawful institutions and due process, honour the invitation of the EFCC once he concludes his ongoing medical check-up in the United Kingdom.
“At this stage, one might jest that only the Boys’ Brigade of Nigeria and the Man’O’War remain uninvited to this theatre of persecution. The desperation to sully Sylva’s name knows no restraint, its sponsors are zealous, its intentions transparent, and its malice unmistakable. Yet, let it be categorically stated: Chief Sylva has clean hands. He has not diverted a single dollar, nor has he betrayed the trust reposed in him by the Nigerian people. The refinery project in question is a legitimate, transparent, and verifiable undertaking, subject to due process and traceable documentation.
“To our friends, allies, and well-wishers: this, too, shall pass. Truth, though often delayed, remains immutable. It neither bows to propaganda nor perishes in the tumult of falsehood. Those engineering this relentless campaign of defamation will not prevail, for light, by its very nature, must always outshine darkness.”
As Ijaw youths kick
IYC, Worldwide, through its Spokesman Amb. Binebai Princewill, reacting, yesterday, said: “While we are not against agencies doing their job in this country, a point must be made very clear that the Bola Tinubu government must not be seen as a government that seems to have been selectively fighting the Ijaw people.
“Sylva, former Governor of Bayelsa State and the immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under late President Muhammadu Buhari is a respected leader in Ijaw and Niger Delta at large, a man who has sacrificed and contributed towards the growth and development of Nigeria and the Petroleum Industry.
“The EFCC must be genuine in their fight against corruption. How is it possible for the EFCC to be declaring Sylva wanted and would not say anything about the main Minister of Petroleum Resources, when Sylva was just Minister of Petroleum Resources State, who was reporting to the senior minister that happens to be the President of Nigeria as at then.
“As a council, we have said it countless times that as Nigerians, we must be genuine in our fight to build a better Nigeria, the fight must not be a selective one.
“We are all aware how the Supreme Court of Nigeria in a landmark judgment declared all existing wards and units in Warri Federal Constituency, Delta State non existent and ordered for a fresh delineation exercise. Today, what is happening, INEC despite the Supreme Court judgment has disregarded the judgment and is currently going on with its voter registration exercise in the constituency, in such instance, where is the supremacy of the law?
“The law cannot be silent in some places and be active in other places just to hunt perceived enemies.”
The EFCC must thread with caution. The Fubara case is still very fresh in our memories and Sylva is not the only minister under Buhari, Nigeria belongs to all of us.”
Source; Vanguard News