FORMER Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, was Saturday evening still being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) about 48 hours after he was arrested in Abuja.
The former President of the Senate was arrested over the management of N13billion Ecological Fund when he was in the saddle as the SGF and the controversial Centenary City project.
Sources in the anti-graft agency informed that Anyim was still in custody and might spend the whole weekend with the commission.
According to a source; “The former SGF is still with EFCC. This is weekend, and there no how he could have been released on bail.
“He will have to spend the whole of this weekend in custody. Before anyone can talk about his bail, it may be any time from next (this) week,” the source told Sunday Tribune.
Anyim, who served as SGF under the administration of the immediate past President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, it was gathered, was linked to a shortfall in the ecological fund while he was in office and alleged diversion of N60.75million by both the Federal and state governments from the fund for purposes not related to ecological issues.
His roles in the Centenary City project, which was conceived by the Jonathan administration to celebrate Nigeria’s 100 years of nationhood, also came under scrutiny by the commission.
Anyim was said to have been involved in the $18.3 billion project as Sunday Tribune learnt that about 3,000 acres of land in the project belong to him.
The entire centenary City is sited on 1, 267 hectares of land in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The Centenary City project was a subject of investigation of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT in February, leading to the recommendation by the committee in its report that Anyim and the immediate past FCT Minister, Senator Bala Muhammed should be investigated by anti-corruption agencies.
Efforts made to reach EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, proved abortive, as his phone lines were not available, while he did not reply a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.