Solid Golden Ladies Group , one of the very political groups that worked tirelessly for the 2023 Atiku/Okowa presidential election has called on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to be sufficiently restrained in the manner it discharges its duties.
The group which is led by Chief Mrs. Uju Edochie a prominent member of the People’s Democratic Party in Anambra State was reacting to the arrest of the former Governor of Delta State, Chief Ifeanyi Okowa.
Edochie said though the EFCC is doing a good job of trying to curb financial crime by looking into the records of public office holders but it should ensure it does so within the provisions of the law. She decried the media trial suspects are exposed to, once invited by the Commission, insisting it runs counter to the rights of an accused who is presumed innocent until proved guilty. “If a former Governor under investigation, and who has no history of evading arrest, honors invitation by the Commission EFCC, the least that can be done is to let him out on bail. Detaining him for as long as he has been kept can only mean either of two things. Either he has been adjudged guilty of the crime for which he stands accused or he is presumed a fugitive of the law who would escape further investigation if granted bail” Neither of which according to her defines the man who can boast of an impressive record of public service from the time he was Secretary and later Chairman of Ika Local Government, Area, Commissioner, S.S.G, Senator and finally the Governor.
She said that it might be too early to conclude on what the exact situation is but that nothing is beyond politics. “If a whopping N1.3 trillion 13 percent derivation funds of the Delta state money was diverted the state government was expected to have raised the alarm. Edochie insists that detaining the former vice presidential candidate of the PDP who walked into the office of the EFCC smack of intimidation of political opponents. She prays the Commission to release the former Governor and charge him to court if he has any case to answer.
Edochie was the spokesperson of Atiku/Okowa campaign during the last presidential election and the leader of the Solid Golden Ladies Group. The group has strong political presence in all the 21 local government areas across Anambra state and has been in the vanguard of promoting good governance.
