A former Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida
Waziri, on Wednesday described as “blatant
falsehood,” the claim by ex-President Olusegun
Obasanjo that she was recommended for the
EFCC job by convicted former Delta State
Governor, James Ibori.
Expressing surprise that a man who has been
twice a Nigerian leader would “descend so low
to peddle falsehood,” Waziri warned Obasanjo
to respect his age or else she would “open up
on him.”
“I will like to warn that those who live in glass
houses don’t throw stones and as such
Obasanjo should not allow me open up on
him. Respectable elder statesmen act and
speak with decorum”, she said in a statement
personally signed by her.
Ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said the
claim by the former President that he was
persona non grata in the United States, was
not true.
Obasanjo had in an interview he granted Zero
Tolerance, a magazine published by the EFCC,
also said that the war against corruption in the
country slowed down during Waziri’s tenure
because she was not qualified for the job.
He had said, “Go and look at her track record.
Go and look at the condition or the
qualification; go and look at the type of
interaction that anybody holding that job will
have with a similar organisation elsewhere; did
Waziri have that type? What connection did
she have with FBI? What relationship did she
have with Metropolitan Police in London? It’s
not a picnic.”
But Waziri, in the statement which showed her
level of anger, said she doubted if Obasanjo
could boast her level of education.
The EFCC former chairman then went ahead to
reel out her educational qualification and her
relationship with international security
agencies while serving in the Nigeria Police
Force for 35 years.
She said, “Again for the record, I served in the
NPF for 35 years and got to the pinnacle of my
career before my appointment as the EFCC
chairman. If Obasanjo’s real age has not
blurred his memory, I will like to remind him
that I was a Commissioner of Police, Admin
Force CID, CP, General Investigations, CP, Anti-
fraud, CP , X squad, CP, and Police Special
Fraud Unit where I secured the first conviction
in a case of Advance Fee Fraud in Nigerian
history.
“These are all prime investigative organs of the
Nigeria Police where I related with other law
enforcement agencies, including the FBI across
the world. I must place on record that at the
SFU, I did not only relate with the FBI,
Interpol and the Metpolice, among others , we
carried out joint operations at different times
on a number of cases. I have also led the
Nigerian delegation to the Interpol
headquarters in France.
“To further expose the height of mischief in
the allegations, the past and present chairmen
of the EFCC have both worked under me; yet
someone can open his mouth to say I am not
qualified to head the same agency. This is in
addition to my educational qualifications such
as a first degree in Law, a Master’s degree in
Law and another Master’s degree in Strategic
Studies. I doubt if Obasanjo himself can boast
this level of educational qualifications.
“I will also like to remind Obasanjo that no
chairman of the EFCC has till date beaten my
records in terms of investigation of high
profile cases, prosecution, conviction and
recovery.”
She told Obasanjo that the Act establishing the
EFCC stipulates that the chairman shall ‘be a
serving or retired member of any government
security or law enforcement agency not below
the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or
equivalent; and possess not less than 15 years
cognate experience’.
Waziri said while she holds the office of a
Head of State in the highest esteem, it was
necessary to put on the record for the
umpteenth time, that the claim that Ibori
recommended her for the EFCC job “ is a
totally unfounded, blatant lie.”
The ex-anti graft Czar added, “The truth is that
I never met Ibori in my life until after months
in office as chairman of the EFCC when I used
to see him in the Presidential Villa.
It is on record today that I initiated the
investigation that drove Ibori into the waiting
hands of the Interpol and the Metpolice.
“As such, it is illogical and nonsensical for
anyone to continue to insinuate that Ibori had
a hand in my appointment. I remember this
was one of the lies Obasanjo’s sit-tight pawns
cooked to stop my appointment as the EFCC
chairman in 2008.”
According to her, the late President Umaru
Yar’Adua did not have to alter the Act “when
he was appointing me unlike what Obasanjo
did.”
She told the former President that ability to be
used to victimise political enemies in the rabid
pursuit of his third term agenda “has never
been part of the qualifications for appointment
as chairman of the anti-graft agency.”
Also, Abubakar said there was no way he could
be arrested if he travelled to the US.
He added that Obasanjo’s repeated ‘jokes’
about his “ not being able to go to the US have
become a cliché, tiresome and not true.”
In a statement issued by his Media Adviser,
Mallam Garba Shehu, the former vice-president
said his visa to the US had recently been
renewed.
“The former President is wrong. It is widely
known that Abubakar didn’t enter government
broke. He declared his assets at the
commencement of his Vice Presidency and did
so at the end of his tenure.” the statement
added.
It stated that in 2006, Obasanjo sent his
National Security Adviser to stop Abubakar
from travelling to the US on the grounds that
he risked arrest on arrival.
The ex-VP, according to the statement,
spurned that advice, left Nigeria and landed at
the Andrews Air Force Base, the official airport
of the US government.
It added that shortly after Yar’Adua was
inaugurated as President, Abubakar travelled
and spent three months in the US.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment