Defection Saga: AGF, EFCC react to claim of holding secret meetings with opposition governor

The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have denied holding secret meetings with an opposition party governor to influence their defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The allegations were made by Paul Ibe, spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.

Mr Ibe alleged that EFCC chairperson Ola Olukoyede and the Solicitor General of the Federation, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, met with a former and incumbent governor from a South-south state 48 hours before their defection.

He accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of using anti-corruption agencies to pressure opposition politicians into switching parties.

In response, the Office of the AGF dismissed the claims as “baseless and malicious.”

“Although Mr Ibe did not name the individuals involved, discerning members of the public can infer who he was referring to,” said Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Assistant to the President on Communication and Publicity in the Office of the AGF, in a statement on Friday.

“However, we wish to state categorically that the allegation is from the pit of hell, and at best, a figment of imagination of Mr Ibe.

“We know as a fact that the EFCC chairman and the Solicitor General of the Federation never met any serving or former governor as alleged by him.”

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Mr Ogundele described the claim as a “feeble attempt to discredit the Tinubu administration’s fight against corruption,” and reiterated that the administration remains committed to the rule of law.

Also, the EFCC also rejected Mr Ibe’s claims. In a separate statement, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale described the allegations as “unfounded and outrageous.”

“Olukoyede has stressed it at several fora that he is apolitical and the EFCC totally wired against partisan tendencies,” Mr Oyewale said.

He urged the public to disregard the claims, which he described as “conjectures and assumptions.”

Allegations

On Thursday, Mr Ibe was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, a current affairs programme hosted by broadcaster Seun Okinbaloye.

The conversation centered around the recent defections from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Mr Ibe, the media representative to PDP’s 2019 and 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, attributed recent defections to the APC to the alleged involvement of the EFCC.

Mr Abubakar contested for president in the 2023 but lost to President Tinubu of the APC.

Mr Ibe alleged that the APC leverages the EFCC to intimidate PDP governors with corruption probes, offering to clear their records if they defect to the APC.

“I know of a lawmaker. I also know of a lawyer who is holding brief for this lawmaker and they are shaking him down.The ultimate objective, is to ensure that by the time they show him the results of his corruption, they will open the doors to the ruling party and tell him to go in and sin no more.

“That was the same scenario with a former governor in the South-South state and the current governor of that state that defected, That is the same scenario with another governor in the South-South who is also threatening to leave the opposition party to the APC, 48 hours before the defections of the ones that I just referenced.

“The EFCC chairman and the solicitor general of the federation allegedly met with these individuals at their government lodge,” he stated.

“They are shaking them down… and the objective is to ensure that by the time they show him the results of his corruption, they will open the doors to the ruling party and tell him to go in and sin no more,” Mr Ibe alleged. 

He also criticised the government’s performance, citing insecurity in Borno, Benue, and Plateau states, inflation, erratic power supply, and lack of economic direction.

“They were never prepared for governance… the first fumble was the oil subsidy,” he said.

Mr Ibe further claimed that data from the National Bureau of Statistics was being manipulated to misrepresent economic progress. However, he did not provide evidence to support any of his claims.

“Everything they do is about 2027. Just a little while, the fireworks will start. It will be between Nigerians versus Tinubu and his APC,” Mr Ibe said.

Defection Saga

Although the 2027 general election is still one year and 10 months away, political parties have begun earnest preparation ahead of the polls.

This comes as governors and lawmakers who won their seats under the PDP flag have begun to defect to the APC.

Besides the over 300 PDP members that reportedly defected to APC between February 2024 and February 2025, top political figures, lawmakers have also defected.

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In April, the Governor of Delta state, Sheriff Oborevwori shook the polity when he announced the defection of the entire political structure of the state to the APC.

He announced that his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa , lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives as well as all state assembly lawmakers have decamped to the APC.

Although Mr Ibe did not give specifics, his statement alluded to former governor Okowa and Governor Oborevwori.

Recently, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom directed all commissioners and political appointees to defect with him from the PDP to the APC or resign from their positions.

Political analysts expect more defections to be announced, but concerns linger over a situation where the APC dominates in all 36 states across the federation, giving way to a one-petty system.