Willie Obiano, the incumbent Governor of Anambra State, has been placed on a watchlist by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ahead of the state’s turnover of authority.
This was stated in a letter dated November 15, 2021 to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
The EFCC demanded that immigration place Governor Obiano on a watchlist and notify them if he travels out of the country via any of the international airports, as well as other points of entry and exit.
However, it is unclear why the governor was placed on a watchlist by the anti-corruption body.
According to Channels Television, the move was an indication that the agency was quietly probing the governor and may have intelligence indicating he was intending to flee after handing over office to his successor, Professor Charles Soludo, on March 16, 2022.
In Nigeria, sitting governors are immune from criminal prosecution while in office.
Obiano, 66, will relinquish control of Anambra to Professor Soludo in March 2022, after serving two terms as governor.
He would have finished his eight-year stint in government by then, having won the governorship election on the ticket of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in 2013. (APGA).
Before winning the election to succeed former Governor Peter Obi, the governor had quit the banking system to enter politics.
Professor Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, will succeed the present governor after winning an election earlier in November.
