The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva to present himself for questioning over an alleged $14.86m fraud case, hours after he resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and accused the anti-graft agency of serving the ruling party’s interests.
EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, made the position clear on Monday when he responded to Sylva’s allegation that the commission had increasingly conducted itself as an organ of the APC rather than an institution of the state.
“He has been declared wanted; he should make himself available to the commission,” Oyewale said.
Sylva, who served as governor from 2007 to 2012 and later became Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, announced his withdrawal from the APC in a resignation letter dated August 31, 2026.
He sent the letter to the APC chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and copied the party’s national chairman, the EFCC chairman, and the APC chairman in the state.
In the letter, the former minister accused the APC leadership of abandoning the principles on which the party was founded. He also criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying it had disappointed many Nigerians.
Sylva said he could no longer belong to a political party whose leaders, in his assessment, had embraced the notion that “all is fair in politics”.
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He also explained why the EFCC received a copy of his resignation letter; he alleged that the commission had become increasingly political.
“I am deliberately putting the EFCC in copy of this letter because, of late, it has conducted itself more as an organ of the APC than as an institution of State,” Sylva wrote.
He acknowledged that his resignation could attract further scrutiny from the commission but said he was prepared to face that possibility.
The EFCC declared Sylva wanted in November 2025 over an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion involving $14,859,257.
His legal troubles also include a separate case arising from an alleged plot against the Tinubu administration. Sylva is listed as a defendant in a 13-count charge involving allegations of treason, terrorism-related offences, conspiracy, and money laundering. He has denied involvement in the alleged plot.
The Federal High Court in Abuja also granted an interim forfeiture order in May 2026 covering nine properties linked to the former governor following an application by the EFCC.
In July, the Department of State Services (DSS) arraigned five of Sylva’s associates over allegations that they concealed his whereabouts after he was declared wanted in connection with the alleged plot. The defendants pleaded not guilty and were granted bail.
Sylva has reportedly been outside Nigeria since the investigation into the alleged plot became public. Investigators have also alleged that he financed part of the operation through Purple Waves Limited, an Abuja-based company, although the allegations have not been proven in court.
His latest confrontation with the EFCC therefore places his political break with the APC alongside an outstanding criminal investigation.
As it stands now, the commission’s position is direct: having been declared wanted over the $14.86m allegation, Sylva is expected to appear before investigators and respond to the case against him.
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