According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a staggering N2.2 trillion has allegedly been looted, embezzled, laundered, or misappropriated by 58 former governors over the past 25 years. This amount excludes seized properties and other assets under probe, which are valued in billions of Naira.
The sum of N2.2 trillion is equivalent to the entire budget of Lagos State for 2024 (N2.25 trillion) and the combined budgets of all the South-East states for the same year (N2.29 trillion). It also surpasses the 2024 budgets of the North-Central states (N1.89 trillion) and the North-East states (N1.60 trillion).
Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria has had 170 governors across its 36 states. Among these, certain states have seen multiple governors, with Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, and Enugu each having had four governors, while Imo, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa have had five or more.
Despite numerous probes and investigations, only four former governors have been convicted of fraud-related charges by the EFCC. The commission has secured a total of 6,981 convictions for various offenses between 2020 and 2022, but no ex-governor is among those convicted.
The EFCC is reportedly revisiting cases involving N772 billion allegedly misappropriated by 13 former governors, some of whom claim innocence and accuse the EFCC of political motives. The commission, however, remains determined to ensure that those implicated in corruption are brought to justice.
