An aide to former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has described the recent declaration of his principal as wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a politically motivated act aimed at tarnishing his image.
In a statement issued on Monday, Mr. Julius Bokoru, Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to Chief Sylva, said the EFCC’s announcement was made “quite unceremoniously” through social media, without any formal communication or adherence to due protocol.
According to him, the development appears to be part of a larger, well-coordinated campaign designed to discredit the former Bayelsa State Governor and diminish his political standing.
“It is, to say the least, curious that what was once whispered in corridors as a ‘coup matter’ has now quietly metamorphosed into a financial allegation,” Bokoru said.
“The same shadowy forces that once sought to criminalise Sylva politically now appear to have reinvented themselves as fiscal crusaders.”
He likened Sylva’s ordeal to “the trials of Job in Holy Scripture,” saying each allegation against him was deliberately orchestrated by those who fear his continued political relevance.
Bokoru further clarified that although he had not been in direct contact with Sylva, the former minister remains committed to due process and will honour the EFCC’s invitation once he concludes his ongoing medical check-up in the United Kingdom.
He also assured Sylva’s supporters that the truth would eventually prevail, expressing confidence that the allegations would be proven false.
“The desperation to sully Sylva’s name knows no restraint—its sponsors are zealous, its intentions transparent, and its malice unmistakable.”
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He added that the refinery project at the centre of the allegations is “legitimate, transparent, and verifiable, with due process and documentation in place.”
“Chief Timipre Sylva has clean hands. He has not diverted a single dollar nor betrayed the trust reposed in him by the Nigerian people. Those engineering this campaign of defamation will not prevail—for light, by its very nature, must always outshine darkness,” he stated.
The EFCC had on Monday declared Sylva wanted over an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of US$14,859,257.
Spokesman of the commission, Dele Oyewale in a public notice, said the funds were provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical.