“We won’t wait until they finish their tenure before we start our work. Moreover, we are not talking about one or two petitions against the governors, the petitions are in huge numbers and we have a duty to act."
While the EFCC is investigating eight governors, the ICPC is probing four.
It was gathered that most of the petitions were received after the governors celebrated one year in office.
A senior official of the EFCC, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, disclosed that the number of the petitions against each of the governor was so huge that the agency could not ignore them.
The official added that though the commission did not have the powers to prosecute the governors because of the immunity they enjoy, it would continue with the probe.
He said, "Of course, not all the allegations in the petition will be true but we have to find out first.... Once they finish their tenure, we will be sending out invitations and making arrests. We have a minimum of two years to finish our investigations on them. When they finish ruling, we will be ready.”
When pressed to divulge the identity of the governors, the source refused. The official expressed fears that the governors could scuttle the investigations by bringing Aso Rock pressure on the EFCC and the ICPC once their names are mentioned now.
He, however, identified Governors Rochas Okorocha of Imo State; and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State as being on the probe list.
“Both of them are aware of the investigations but others are not. If we give you their names, they will start intense lobbying and manoeuvrings which won’t aid our investigations,” the source added.
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