Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has accused the Federal Government of using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intimidate and persecute him and members of his cabinet over their refusal to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor made the allegation on Wednesday at the Government House in Bauchi while reacting to the arraignment of the state Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, by the EFCC over alleged N5.79 billion money laundering.
Mohammed spoke shortly after receiving an Ambassadorial Award for Safety from the Institute of Safety Professionals in Nigeria.
According to the EFCC, Adamu allegedly conspired with the Managing Director of I.S. Makayye Investment Resources Limited, Ishaku Mohammed Aliyu, and one Muntaka Duguri, who is said to be at large, to launder N4.65 billion between June and December 2023.
Reacting to the development, the governor lamented that despite enjoying constitutional immunity, his name was mentioned in an EFCC motion filed in court, which he described as an attempt to intimidate members of his administration.
“As a governor, someone who is the head of the opposition, my commissioner has been kept and will not be released by the EFCC,” Mohammed said.
“Even when I have immunity as a governor, my name was stupendously mentioned in a motion in a court of law in Nigeria — me, Bala Mohammed.
“I woke up to a notification where I was told I am being accused of terrorism. I don’t have to say anything. I don’t even have to go to the court of public opinion. But certainly, politics has become something else in Nigeria.”
The governor, who is also the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, alleged that the APC-led Federal Government was weaponising state institutions to intimidate political opponents.
“The APC-led federal government thinks they can use the courts and institutions of government, like the EFCC, to persecute and prosecute Nigerians who are not within their own party,” he said.
Mohammed insisted that he would not succumb to pressure to join the ruling party, warning that he would no longer remain silent if the alleged persecution continued.
“If they don’t stop, we are going to declare war. I assure you, we are not going to keep quiet any longer. I won’t allow anybody to criminalise me because I’m not in their party. I refuse to join their party, and I will not join their party,” he added.
The governor also criticised the Federal Government over what he described as its failure to execute meaningful projects in Bauchi State, despite controlling the nation’s resources.
“In my state, they have not provided one kilometre of road or water. Even the security agencies — I am the one paying them to work for us — and they have the guts to talk,” he said.
Mohammed further faulted the Federal Government over plans to implement new tax laws without first addressing allegations of alterations in the gazetted copy.
