In a press statement signed by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, convicted former Governor of Delta State Chief James Ibori has said that the property located at No. 5 Alpha Beach Road, Lekki, Lagos which he built in 1994 was declared in the asset declaration form he filled before assuming office as Delta State Governor.
The former governor accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of acting the script of his persecutors.
He wondered why the anti-graft agency in a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujiaren, sought to smear his name when actually the said property was declared before he became public servant.
Ibori argued that the house could not have been secret at all as it was listed in Asset Declaration Forms he filled in 1999, 2003 and 2007, and said that the house has never been a secret.
He said: “despite EFCC’s insinuations to the contrary, the Alpha Beach Road house was built as far back as 1994, and so could not have, by any leap of the imagination, been built with proceeds, corrupt or not corrupt, from my office as State Governor because I began to live in that house five good years before I was voted into office.”
The embattled politician’s release affirmed that,” the only rational explanation for the emergence of this story where well-known facts were twisted to deceive the public is that as the confiscation process against Ibori progresses, some elements within the EFCC may desperately be trying to manufacture things to uphold their often exaggerated stories about Ibori’s wealth.”