No evidence Ribadu named Tinubu, Akpabio as most corrupt governors

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Sunday Awosoro

Claim: An X user claimed Nuhu Ribadu named President Bola Tinubu, Orji Kalu, and Godswill Akpabio among the top five most corrupt serving governors in 2006.

Verdict: Insufficient evidence. While Ribadu told the Senate that 31 of the 36 governors were under EFCC investigation in 2006, the “top five” or “most corrupt” narrative is a simplified version circulating on social media.

Full Text

On Feb. 23, 2026, an X user @DrKalu posted a claim (archived here) that Nuhu Ribadu, the former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairperson, now National Security Adviser, named Bola Tinubu, Godswill Akpabio, and Orji Kalu among the top five most corrupt governors as of 2006.

He said they are all now occupying various high positions within the current Tinubu administration, despite being named corrupt governors.

“In 2006, the then EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu came before the Nigerian Senate and listed the 5 most corrupt governors on the EFCC watchlist. They include: Orji Kalu, Abia State, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Lagos State, Ahmed Sani Yerima, Zamfara State, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, George Akume, Benue State, Chimaroke Nnamani, Enugu State,” the claim read. 

This has sparked different reactions from X users, with many describing the alleged development as condemnable.

“This is a very shameful reminder of our docility as a people. The same people the anti-corruption czar accused of corruption are now occupying the top executive and legislative positions, with their accuser as the chief national security adviser. Corruption goes to wear agbada,” @jindu7 wrote.

@StephenMat36723, another user said, “Those who said Nigeria is governed by criminals are right after all. Can you expect good governance under these men?”

We conducted this fact check due to the complex nature of the claim and the personalities involved. 

Verification

We first observed that while the X user in his first statement said “five governors,” he listed six names. He also listed seven names and their current offices subsequently. 

At the end of the image shared, we saw the “copied” caveat at the bottom of his post, indicating that it had been lifted from somewhere. 

DUBAWA found that this exact claim had been made before by another X user, sometime in February 2024. 

What happened in 2006?

In September 2006, Ribadu, as EFCC chairperson, briefed a Senate committee that the EFCC was investigating 31 of Nigeria’s 36 state governors for corruption. 

In that appearance, he cited the example of Abia State Governor Kalu. He said the EFCC had established a “prima facie case of conspiracy, stealing, corruption, abuse of office, forgery and money laundering”. He also noted that Kalu used companies linked to his family to divert about 25 billion naira from Abia’s treasury.

However, there is no publicly accessible Senate transcript or credible media report that shows he officially named a “top five most corrupt governors” list that matches the other names in the claim.

While Bola Tinubu, Orji Kalu, Sani Yerima, George Akume, and Chimaroke Nnamani were governors at the time, Akpabio, the current President of the Nigerian Senate, was not a governor in 2006. At the time, he was serving as a Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State under the administration of Governor Victor Attah. Although he contested for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries and won in 2006, he was not elected and sworn in until May 2007. 

Ribadu’s later denial about Tinubu, Akume and Kalu

In February 2025, as National Security Adviser, Ribadu, through his lawyer, formally denied ever saying, publicly or privately, that Bola Tinubu, George Akume or Orji Uzor Kalu were the governors who “stole the most” from the treasury or that he had described them as “thieves.”

While this does not erase what he might have said about Kalu’s case before the Senate in 2006, it directly contradicts the popular narrative that he ranked Tinubu, Akume and Kalu as the top corrupt governors.

So far, the only sources that list the states and governors in question are blog posts on Nairaland and Proshare. DUBAWA, however, cannot consider this concrete proof. 

Conclusion

So while evidence shows a general statement flagging 31 out of 36 governors as under EFCC investigation, the “top five” or “most corrupt” framing appears to be a simplified social‑media version.