The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has challenged former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, to appear before the agency for questioning over an alleged $14.86 million fraud case.
The commission’s position came shortly after Sylva announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and accused the anti-corruption agency of operating as an arm of the ruling party.
EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, responding to the allegation on Monday, said Sylva remained wanted by the commission and should make himself available to investigators.
“He has been declared wanted; he should make himself available to the commission,” Oyewale said.
Sylva, who served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under former President Muhammadu Buhari, announced his withdrawal from the APC in a resignation letter dated August 31, 2026.
The letter was addressed to the APC chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and copied to the party’s national chairman, the EFCC chairman and the APC chairman in the state.
Sylva said his decision followed consultations with members of his family, associates, colleagues and supporters.
The former governor, who described himself as a founding member of the APC, accused the party’s leadership of abandoning the principles that informed its formation.
He said the ideals of the party had been “thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted”, arguing that he could no longer remain in an organisation where political expediency appeared to override basic standards of decency and morality.
Sylva also took aim at the Tinubu administration, saying the Federal Government had disappointed the majority of Nigerians.
“The present Government, formed under the banner of the APC we once loved, has disappointed the vast majority of Nigerians,” he said.
He expressed optimism that Nigerians would use the next general election to change the country’s political direction.
The former governor specifically cited the EFCC’s conduct as one of the reasons for copying the agency in his resignation letter.
He alleged that the commission had increasingly behaved like an organ of the APC rather than an independent institution of state.
Sylva acknowledged that his decision could result in what he described as a renewed “witch-hunt” against him and his associates, but said he was prepared to face the consequences.
The EFCC had declared him wanted in November 2025 in connection with an alleged $14,859,257 fraud involving conspiracy and dishonest conversion.
Meanwhile, Sylva is also facing allegations arising from an alleged plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He is listed as a defendant in a 13-count federal charge containing allegations of treason, terrorism-related offences, conspiracy and money laundering.
The former governor has denied the allegations.
Investigators have accused him of being a principal financier of the alleged plot, claiming that about N785 million was channelled through Purple Waves Limited, an Abuja-based company.
More than N5 billion was allegedly mobilised for the operation, with investigators tracing part of the funds through Purple Waves and a bureau de change operator.
The investigation has also reportedly examined funds paid into Purple Waves in connection with contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission and loans obtained by the company.
Sylva has not been convicted of any of the offences alleged against him, and the matters remain subject to judicial proceedings.
In July 2026, five of his associates were arraigned by the Department of State Services over allegations that they concealed his whereabouts after he was declared wanted in connection with the alleged plot. They pleaded not guilty and were granted bail.
Also, in May 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim forfeiture order over nine properties allegedly linked to Sylva following an EFCC application.
Sylva was governor of Bayelsa State between 2007 and 2012, with his tenure ending amid legal battles. He later served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under the Buhari administration.
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