The Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, Julius Bokoru, has described as “curious” the shift from earlier rumours of a “coup matter” to what he called a sudden “financial allegation” against his principal.
Bokoru made the remark in a statement issued on Monday while reacting to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s decision to declare Sylva wanted over alleged involvement in a ₦19.2 billion fraud.
“It is, to say the least, curious that what was once whispered in corridors as a ‘coup matter’ has now quietly metamorphosed into a financial allegation,” he said.
Bokoru also described the EFCC’s announcement as hasty and politically motivated, alleging that no formal communication was sent to Sylva before the notice was made public.
The anti-graft agency had earlier published on its official website and social media platforms that Sylva was wanted “in connection with a case of conspiracy, corruption, and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of ₦19.2 billion,” urging anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact its offices or the nearest police station.
Bokoru accused the EFCC of disregarding established procedures, opting instead for what he called “a digital proclamation designed to inflame public sentiment and manufacture yet another episode of orchestrated hostility.” He alleged that the shift from what had previously been described as a “coup matter” to a financial case showed that unnamed political forces were working to undermine Sylva’s reputation.
“The same shadowy forces that once sought to criminalise Sylva politically now appear to have reinvented themselves as fiscal crusaders,” he said, adding that the transformation of allegations “from rumour to reinvention” raised questions about motive and intent.
Bokoru further claimed that the former Bayelsa governor was the target of a “coordinated political onslaught,” likening his current ordeal to “the trials of Job in the Holy Scriptures.” According to him, each accusation against Sylva “is discredited only for another to appear,” describing the pattern as “the deliberate machinations of those who dread his political relevance and moral resolve.”
He maintained that Sylva, who is currently undergoing a medical examination in the United Kingdom, would honour the EFCC’s invitation upon his return. “Chief Sylva has clean hands. He has not diverted a single dollar, nor has he betrayed the trust reposed in him by the Nigerian people,” Bokoru stated, adding that the refinery project under scrutiny was “legitimate, transparent, and verifiable.”
Concluding, Bokoru expressed confidence that the allegations would not stand. “This, too, shall pass. Truth, though often delayed, remains immutable. Those engineering this relentless campaign of defamation will not prevail, for light, by its very nature, must always outshine darkness,” he said.
