Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, has dismissed reports that he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Instead, he clarified that he only honoured an invitation from the anti-corruption agency as part of a routine process.
Reports had surfaced earlier that Emmanuel was taken into EFCC custody on Tuesday over allegations of mismanaging N700 billion during his tenure as governor from 2015 to 2023. He was said to have been questioned at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja before returning home the next day.
However, in a statement released by his media aide, Stephen Abia, the former governor maintained that his visit to the EFCC was not unusual and should not be misinterpreted.
Abia described Emmanuel’s meeting with the EFCC as a “routine affair” and insisted that the former governor willingly went to the agency in good faith.
He said: “Udom Emmanuel honoured the invitation by the EFCC.
“This he did, seamlessly in his undaunted spirit of patriotism and sense of responsibility. “It is worth emphasizing here that this invitation has been extended to thousands of Nigerians, both the rich and the not-so-rich, political and corporate titans.
“An invitation, therefore, is not a conviction. But a section of the media, egged on by Mr. Emmanuel’s traducers and political adversaries, has made the invitation seem like he was convicted.
“Dispassionate minds need to note the elementary distinctions between an invitation and honouring same, and an arrest which demands some legal mechanics.”