EFCC, Okowa and the Quest For Senatorial Seat

As the 2027 general elections draws closer , politicians are again gearing up, looking for the best political platform to stay relevant and grab power .

Many of the former and current political office holders are under investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged corruption cases
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Many would have thought that a person under suspicion and probe would want to clear his name before aspiring to any public office.

Former Delta state governor, and senator , Dr Ifeanyi Okowa is reportedly warning up for the Senate seat, in spite of the high level corruption allegations against him by the Economic Financial Crime Commission, EFCC.

It will be recalled that , Dr. Okowa , a former Vice Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 general election and former governor defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in April , 2025

Political observers are now concerned that given his new membership of the ruling party , is the anti graft agency going to stop the full scale investigation against him? Following comments by former National Chain of All Progressive Congress, APC, Adams Oshomohole that once you join APC , your sin’s are forgiven.

The Graft agency is investigating Dr Okowa on various charges, but the elephant in the room is the allegations that from 2015 to 2023 when he was Delta state governor, he allegedly misappropriated about three trillion.
He was also accused of failing to render accounts of the funds as well as another N40bn he allegedly claimed he used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas.

Okowa allegedly reportedly bought shares worth N40 billion in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake, to support the offshore LNG project. The funds are alleged to have been misappropriated for other purposes.

The EFCC is also Investigating the alleged diversion of funds by the former governor to acquire estates in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.”

Professor Abdullahi Aminu, a political scientist in his chat with journalists noted that ” EFCC has never been an independent, objective anti graft body, it has always been a political tool. You will recall that many governors under investigation by the body once they defected to APC, the trails and investigations would become cold. As far as I’m concerned, immediately you join the ruling party, no matter the enormity of your sin, forgiveness is bestowed upon you.

” I can bet on it that nothing will come out of Okowa’s alleged corruption allegations”, he concluded.

Another respondent , Dr. Olufemi Omoyele, a public affairs analyst told this medium that” The day Okowa joined the ruling party was the day the EFCC allegations against him became a paper allegations without any steam. My worries for the people of Delta North Senatorial District is that if they make a mistake of losing a focused representative like the cerebral Ned Nwoko, they will done for it. Any decent voters will think twice before voting for a man who has about three trillion hanging on his neck. It’s better that the former governor clear his name first with the EFCC before nursing Senatorial ambition”

He further said “Moving to APC and his prosecution being deferred is enough settlement for him and his followers. Any attempt to contest for the senate seat with a view to becoming senate president must be resisted by all well meaning deltans and Nigerians. It will be an assault on our fledging democracy which such a character is given an opportunity to occupy an office as potentially number three citizens.”

A human rights activist, querried why former governors always see National Assembly as retirement home.
” In fact, I didn’t know Okowa was a former senator until recently when someone said the former governor wanted to return to the place. That I didn’t know shows the level of his anonymity as senator. He was not visible and yet he wants to go back, can he match the vibrancy of Nwoko?

However, Augustine Tialobi, a political science told this medium that” if it is true that Okowa wants to return to the Senate, it will be a gross insult. Return to represent who? This is a man who has seen it all.

Okowa was Council Chairman, Commissioner, Adviser, . Secretary to the State Government, Senator and ultimately Governor. He was vice presidential candidate to Abubakar Atiku. What does he want? In what ways have all these benefited the people of Delta state? When he was senator, what development program did he bring to Delta North? I think the man is angling to become Senate President.

Tialobi noted that Okowa was not a good lawmaker, “he only initiated one bill when he was in the senate. No motion to his name. The bill was an amendment to an Act because he was the Chairman Senate Committee. He naturally had to do it. Otherwise no idea about bills.

But the anti graft agency insists his defection to the ruling party will not save him from investigations and if found culpable, prosecution will follow. The agency noted that it was still investigating corruption allegations against Okowa.

The anti graft agency in November 2024, arrested Okowa over an alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion during his eight-year tenure as governor of the state.

He was also accused of using public funds to acquire properties in Asaba, the state capital, and Abuja.

Speaking during a press briefing to mark the second anniversary of EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede in office, Sylvanus Tahir, the commission’s director of legal and prosecution, refuted claims that Okowa was being shielded following his defection.

Tahir noted that no suspect is immune from investigation or prosecution because of political alignment.

“Someone asked the question that it is alleged that politicians who jump ship to the ruling party are shielded. The simple answer is that it’s not true,” he said.

“I think the reference was made to the case of a former governor of Delta state. To the best of my knowledge, that case is still undergoing investigation. And in due course, justice will be served.”

The EFCC legal director noted that the agency prefers to conclude comprehensive investigations before filing charges, especially in high-profile or politically sensitive cases.

“We have had situations where cases were rushed to court, and the outcomes were not always good. So we would like to do a thorough job. When we go to court, Nigerians will see what the case is all about,” he said.

“There’s no attempt or intention anywhere to shield anybody on account of switching parties — certainly not under this chairman.”

Okowa’s plot to return to the Senate is an admission of a perception solely his that in the entire Delta North, there’s no one with better qualifications for good representation at the upper Chambers of the National Assembly with better credentials than him. Since the advent of Fourth Republic, there has never been a better representation for the Delta North than what Senator Ned Nwoko is doing..

In the past two years Sen.Ned Nwoko has drawn widespread attention for what many constituents and observers describe as a rare breed of legislative activism and development-focused representation.

Since, his Inauguration in the red. Chambers , Nwoko performance has sparked praise from both political allies and opposition voices, many of whom compare his record favorably to predecessors who served the same office for longer durations with fewer visible results.

Nwoko a vocal and active legislators has been recognized as the legislator with the highest volume of bills as he has within 24 months, sponsored 30 bills and moved 18 motions. These legislative initiatives bothers on issues of diaspora voting rights, environmental protection, malaria eradication, constitutional reforms, and national security.

One of his prominent bill is the bill that seeks to grant voting rights to Nigerians in the diaspora, a move that, if passed, would allow millions of citizens abroad to participate in national elections. The bill is seen as a push toward more inclusive governance and reflects Nwoko’s forward-thinking stance on global democratic norms.

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, Nwoko has also played a key part in deliberations on Nigeria’s waste management systems and climate-related challenges. His focus has been on promoting environmental sustainability, drawing from his background as an advocate for malaria eradication and clean living environments..

We need a person of probity, integrity and unassailable reputation to represent Delta North. We should choose wisely.
Any aspirant that has been under the radar of the EFCC for corruption allegations may not be the right person for us.

late Chief Edwin Clark had once submitted a petition against Ex Governor Ifeanyi Okowa requesting the EFCC to investigate the over N600 billion diverted from the state’s treasury as well as alleged ownership of Premium Trust Bank. A group was once invited by the EFCC in Port Harcourt, to also adopt their water tight petition against him, wherein they alleged that he mismanaged N600 billion and diverted same.

Political pundits have raised concern that the murky politics in Nigeria of course, has lost its ethics and morality as many politicians with high profile cases with the EFCC are brazenly aspiring for one position or the other

In spite of the allegations against the former governor who is now allegedly aspiring to run for the Senate seat come 2027, as he moved to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, the trial of his case with the EFCC suddenly went cold, lost steam and normalized, or has his sin’s been since forgiven by the EFCC..