Contrary to media reports on the matter, the Speakper of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Hon. Frnacis Nwifuru, has denied being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The news broke last Friday that the lawmaker was accosted at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State and whisked away to their office in the state capital.
Speaking to newsmen in the Ebonyi State capital, Abakaliki, Nwifuru said he voluntarily went to the anti-graft body’s office, after they dropped an invitation for him in his office while he was away on an agricultural programme in China enroute Abuja.
He said he decided to honour the invitation while still in Enugu State as it would constitute double stress to have to come back from Ebonyi to honour the invitation.
The speaker explained that he was invited concerning a petition on his 2011 to 2014 constituency project funds as the lawmaker representing Izzi West state constituency and was later told to go after the operatives of the agency were satisfied with his explanation.
Nwifuru said he told the EFCC that he was not the Speaker of the House during the period under review and could only tell them that the former speaker awarded constituency projects through bidding processes.
In the same vein, he added that all the projects for his own constituency were duly completely except for one which was at 80 percent completion rate at the end of the last administration
He however referred them to the House department for Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS) which, he said, should be held accountable because it raised the Certificates of Completion to the contractors.
He described the petition leading to his invitation as “politically motivated”, stating: “I believe the petition was politically motivated because it only involved nine members of the previous assembly who were re-elected and who did not support the immediate past administration when its tenure was ending.”