His detention is said to be connected to his tenure as finance commissioner in the administration of the late Rotimi Akeredolu, the immediate former governor of the state.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ondo State Wale Akinterinwa has reportedly been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His detention is said to be connected to his tenure as finance commissioner in the administration of the late Rotimi Akeredolu, the immediate former governor of the state.
Akinterinwa was among the 16 aspirants who challenged one another for the Ondo governorship ticket of the APC over the weekend.
However, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa was declared the winner of the primary election on Monday by Ahmed Ododo, Chairman of the Governorship Primary Election Committee and Governor of Kogi State.
He served as the Commissioner for Finance in the administration of the late Akeredolu for over seven years.
According to The Nation, he is being investigated by the EFCC for the alleged mismanagement of billions of Naira, even though he was allowed to participate in the APC primary election from detention.
Citing sources from the EFCC, the newspaper said Akinterinwa was invited some weeks ago by the anti-graft body for interaction on some allegations but was âallegedly too busyâ to honour the invitation.
He, however, showed up at the anti-graft commissionâs office on Thursday.
It was learnt that EFCC decided to be silent on the detention in order not to jeopardise Akinterinwaâs chances in the APC primary.
âIn the past few weeks, the EFCC invited Akinterinwa for interrogation on the red flag on some issues during his tenure as Commissioner for Finance. But he has not been forthcoming,” one of the sources was quoted to have said.
âThe commission had the option to declare him wanted, but it exercised restraint to avoid being dragged into politics because he was an aspirant for the APC governorship primary.
âBut Akinterinwa voluntarily reported to the EFCC in Abuja. He was taken into custody for quizzing.â
Speaking on Sunday, the source was quoted as saying: âAkinterinwa is still in our custody. We did not arrest or pick him up, but he came up to respond to our long-overdue invitation. I can tell you that his detention has no political undertone.â
On Friday, SaharaReporters reported that the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Olukayode Ajulo (SAN), had confirmed that operations targeting fraud and financial crimes were currently taking place in the state.
This confirmation came following reports that the EFCC had declared Akinterinwa, a former commissioner wanted.
When questioned by journalists about ongoing investigations against individuals and corporations, Ajulo said the state government would not interfere in the operations of agencies such as the police, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Ondo State Public Complaint, Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Commission.
He further stated that some of the petitions were about the stateâs resources, which the State Public Complaint, Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Commission by the extant law in operation was empowered to look into.
Ajulo further spoke about the influx of petitions he had received since assuming the role of Attorney General of Ondo State.
He said the petitions came from citizens, civil society organisations, and even international entities, which raised concerns about the activities of the past government.