Rivers Crisis: EFCC Declared Fubara Wanted? Fact Emerges
- Contrary to a post on social media, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state was not recently declared wanted by the EFCC
- Legit.ng fact-checked a breaking news on social media claiming the EFCC declared the governor wanted
- The governor was last declared wanted by the EFCC in May 2022 as the accountant general of Rivers state, while he was first on the radar of the anti-graft agency in 2018 as the director of finance in the state
Legit.ng journalist Bada Yusuf is an accomplished politics and current affairs editor, boasting over seven years of experience in journalism and writing.
Port Harcourt, Rivers - Amid the political tension in Rivers state, more reports about the growing rift between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, have continued spreading online.
Tension grew further on Monday, May 13, when the governor announced his plan to constitute a committee to probe Wike's administration, which he was part of.
Source: Twitter
Hours after, a social media user on X, identified as @possible1001, claimed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had declared Fubara wanted, using "BREAKING".
The tweet read:
"BREAKING:
"The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared the Rivers State Accountant-General, Fubara Siminayi, and 58 others wanted for N435 billion fraud..."
The post was misleading, as a thorough check by Legit.ng showed that it predated the current event in the state.
See the tweet below:
Has EFCC declared Governor Fubara wanted?
Though the X user did not cite any credible media as the source of the claim, he shared the regular publicity image from the anti-graft agency, EFCC, which included the governor's photo.
After subjecting the image to a fact-check on Google reverse image, it was discovered that it was dated September 2018, when the EFCC declared Fubara, the then director of finance of the Rivers state government and three other members of the cabinet wanted.
In May 2022, Legit.ng reported that the EFCC declared Fubara, the state's accountant general at the time, wanted.
Therefore, it is important to clarify that the claim that the EFCC declared Fubara wanted is not a recent report, as the social media user suggested.
Furthermore, Fubara is now a sitting governor of the oil-producing state and will enjoy constitutional immunity until the end of his tenure if he has a case to answer.
Fubara was appointed the accountant general of the state in December 2022. He left the position after he emerged as the Rivers governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022. He won the election and took over from Wike. However, both men have been engaged in a supremacy battle since then.
Reacting to Fubara's plan to probe Wike, a journalist, Oseni Rufai, tweeted:
"Fubara should start by telling us what happened to the EFCC allegation of N435 billion and all that happened in the govt he served."
See Oseni's tweet below:
Wike vs Fubara: Tinubu speaks on Rivers crisis
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Tinubu was said to be planning a neutral role in solving the political crisis in Rivers state.
The presidency clarified that the warring party should focus on governance to the state's people till 2027, which is the time of politics.
Ajuri Ngelale, the spokesperson to the president, said Tinubu will ensure that every stakeholder has what they need to work.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
