Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has vowed not to appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday while he is still the governor of a state.
Fayose, in a letter written to EFCC, said he acknowledged the receipt of the commission’s letter dated 13th September 2018 requesting him to appear on the 20th September.
Fayose said the EFCC was acting contrary to Section 308 of the Constitution which conferred on him immunity by acting him to appear.
“As a responsible citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who currently enjoys immunity under Section 308 of the Constitution, it would amount to a breach of the Constitution which I swore to uphold if I appeared in your office on any date earlier than 16th October 2018.
“If done otherwise, it will set a wrong precedent for the constitutional institution that I represent.
“While drafting my response to yours of 14th September 2018, my attention was drawn to your widely publicised letter of 12th September 2018 to the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, and similar agencies, directing them to watch and arrest me on an imagination that I might leave Nigeria to escape investigation,” he said.
According to Fayose, “This development, to say the least, is disappointing and betrays your commission’s unprovoked personal hatred and malice against my person.”
He added that the EFCC had presumed him guilt even prior to the commencement of an investigation, adding that this raised a serious question about the impartiality, independence or neutrality of the commission in the matter.
Fayose said he felt harassed, intimidated and embarrassed by the imputation of crime and the innuendos of criminality underlining EFCC’s correspondence which had been maliciously circulated widely.
PM NEWS
