Prominent amongst such indicted governors was Senator Rochas Okorocha whose successor in office, Emeka Ihedioha, accused of appropriating so many government properties to self and family, especially shortly before handover date.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should be more incisive and swift in stopping looting ex-Nigerian governors in their tracks before hiding their misdeeds, says the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL).
It, however, commended the EFCC for going after alleged illicit properties of Rochas Okorocha, former Governor of Imo State, and his wife.
CACOL boss, Debo Adeniran, said this in a statement sent to SaharaReporters on Friday.
"Our major wish is that this land must be seriously healed of the evils of corruption and its cascading taproot terminated from our polity. The momentum has to be sustained as other indicted governors would now be busy, frantically covering their tracks and manipulating records and other pieces of evidence.
"This is where we expect the anticipatory acumen of our anti-corruption agencies to be more incisive and swift as they beam their keen satellite on the stolen wealth. This is the only way towards returning our country back to the era of social order and economic stability,” he explained.
Adediran said the move by the commission will send signals to other former governors who had engaged in fraudulent activities when they were in office.
He said: “We would recollect that shortly after assumption of office, some state governors blew the whistle on how their predecessors had looted their respective states’ treasury, converted government properties into personal and family ownership and use while outright expropriating resources belonging to the public through last-minute contract awards and phony transactions.
"Prominent amongst such indicted governors was Senator Rochas Okorocha whose successor in office, Emeka Ihedioha, accused of appropriating so many government properties to self and family, especially shortly before handover date.
“Without mincing any words, this sting operation against the malfeasance and unscrupulous looting of public resources by Rochas Okorocha is quite commendable. This becomes more appreciable when one considers the fact that the ex-governor was one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s close-corridor friends.”
CACOL encouraged the anti-graft agency to show similar dedications and go after other ex-governors who might have stolen from the treasury.
"This is where we expect the anticipatory acumen of our anti-corruption agencies to be more incisive and swift as they beam their keen satellite on that stolen wealth. This is the only way towards returning our country back to the era of social order and economic stability,” he said.
The EFCC marked some properties belonging to the Okorochas and their allies as being under investigation.
Some of the properties include “Dews of Hope Hospital traced to Dr. Paschal Obi, former Principal Secretary to ex-Governor Okorocha, Market Square Super Market (all in one shop) and premises belonging to Imo state Broadcasting Corporation, now hosting Rochas Foundation College owned by Senator Rochas Okorocha.
Others are East High Academy and East High College, owned by Okorocha’s daughter, UlomaOkorocha- Nwosu, Royal Spring Palm Hotel and Apartment, a 16-block cum 96 flats and eight bungalows multi-million Naira estate traced to Okorocha’s wife, etc. All these are suspected resources that were looted from Imo State coffers by their former governor.