The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva, who has been declared wanted for an alleged $14.86 million fraud, to appear for questioning.
Dele Oyewale, the commission’s spokesman, announced this on Monday in response to Sylva’s claim that the anti-graft agency operated more as an organ of the All Progressives Congress than as a government entity.
“He has been declared wanted; he should make himself available to the commission,” Oyewale said when asked to respond to the allegation.
Sylva, who announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress on Monday, stated that he had forwarded a copy of his resignation letter to the EFCC, accusing the commission of acting as an organ of the ruling party.
The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources also accused the APC of losing its fundamental beliefs, claiming that the Tinubu administration had disappointed Nigerians.
The resignation letter, written to the APC chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, was sent electronically. It was also copied to the APC’s national chairman, the EFCC’s executive chairman, and the APC’s Bayelsa state chairman.
Sylva said he decided to leave the party after consulting with his family, associates, coworkers, and supporters.
He claimed he had little choice but to abandon what he described as a “floundering ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities.”
The former governor stated that he could no longer stay in a party whose leaders, in his opinion, had adopted the notion that “all is fair in politics.”
In a resignation letter dated August 31, 2026, received by our correspondents, Sylva stated that the values upon which the APC was established had been “thoroughly and unrecognizably thwarted.”
He wrote, “As a founding member of the APC, and one who joined other well-meaning Nigerians in building the party with sweat and money, it is deeply saddening to witness how the ideals we espoused have been so thoroughly and unrecognizably thwarted.
“Moreover, I cannot, in all good conscience, continue to belong to a party whose leaders believe that ‘all is fair in politics’ and have consistently demonstrated that belief in practice.
“All cannot be fair in any endeavor of life. The demands of basic decency and morality forbid it. Unfortunately, this mentality appears to underpin virtually every action, and even inaction, of this administration.”
Sylva also condemned the APC-led federal government, saying it had failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians.
“The present government, formed under the banner of the APC we once loved, has disappointed the vast majority of Nigerians. And I can see neither a credible attempt nor any possibility of a revamp,” he stated.
He noted that he was leaving the party in the belief that Nigerians would use the next election to change the political direction of the country.
“I am therefore left with no other choice than to jettison a floundering ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities. I have no doubt that, in the coming election, Nigerians will vote for Nigeria and free the country from this stranglehold on our beautiful country,” he said.
Sylva explained why he copied the EFCC in his resignation letter, accusing the commission of becoming increasingly politicized and expressing concern that his resignation would result in further investigations against him and his allies.
He wrote, “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.
“I am fully aware that this action of mine may invite a redoubled witch-hunt against me and my associates, but that is a risk I am willing to take.”
The former governor expressed optimism that Nigerians would use the next general election to “vote for Nigeria” and free the country from what he termed the current “stranglehold” on it.
Sylva expressed confidence that Nigerians will use the upcoming election to shift the country’s political orientation.
In November 2025, the EFCC proclaimed Sylva was declared wanted in connection with an alleged plot and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257.
His departure from the APC comes months after he was linked to an alleged plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Sylva is named as a defendant and described as “still at large” in a 13-count federal accusation alleging treason, terrorism-related offenses, conspiracy, and money laundering stemming from the alleged scheme.
According to multiple accounts, Sylva departed the nation once the inquiry into the suspected conspiracy was made public.
According to sources acquainted with the inquiry, he suspended preparations to return to Nigeria after learning of a raid on his Abuja home and the arrest of some of his associates.
Investigators have reportedly identified Sylva as a suspected key financier of the conspiracy, accusing him of providing over N785 million through Purple Waves Limited, an Abuja-based company.
More than N5 billion was apparently pooled for the alleged plot, with detectives tracking down approximately N785 million through Purple Waves and a bureau de change operator before the money was allegedly disbursed.
Investigators reportedly linked monies transferred into Purple Waves to revenues from Niger Delta Development Commission contracts and loans secured by the company.
Sylva has denied any involvement in the claimed scheme. The claims are still being investigated by the courts, and he has not been found guilty.
In July 2026, the Department of State Services charged five of his colleagues with concealing his location after he was designated wanted in connection with the suspected conspiracy. They pled not guilty and received bail.
Following a suit by the EFCC, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim forfeiture order for nine Sylva-related assets in May 2026.
Sylva was governor of Bayelsa State from 2007 to 2012, although his term was cut short due to judicial orders. He then worked as minister of state for petroleum resources under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
