The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, wanted over alleged corruption and financial misconduct.
In a public notice issued on Monday, November 10, 2025, and signed by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency said Sylva is being sought in connection with the alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257.
The funds, according to the EFCC, were part of an investment made by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery project.
The declaration followed a warrant of arrest issued on November 6, 2025, by the Lagos State High Court, authorising the agency to apprehend the former minister.
Sylva, 61, who hails from Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, has been a prominent figure in Nigerian politics for over two decades. He governed Bayelsa between May 27, 2008, and January 27, 2012, and later served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration from August 2019 to 2023.
His inclusion on the EFCC’s wanted list represents a major twist in his political career and underscores renewed scrutiny of former public officials accused of corruption.
