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There are two men in one Nuhu Ribadu, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). While one of the men says what he means and goes on to act base on conviction, the other man in Nuhu goes about talking before thinking. Prior to May 29, 2007, Chairman Ribadu in any public function never minced words on his determination to deal with rogue governors who (then) were hiding under the immunity clause. But since the officers left office in May 29, his actions towards actualizing vows could best be described as blurred and at worst obscured.
Recently, the EFCC invited 15 out of the 25 former state governors said to have been investigated and believed to have genuine cases to answer concerning their sudden wealth. Almost all the former chief executives invited have appeared and made their submissions to the anti-graft agency. However, two are yet to appear.
The former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, is reported to have sent a letter to the Commission promising to return to Lagos and answer the commission’s summons. Saminu Turaki of Jigawa is still taking his time to visit the EFCC head office.
Prominent among those that have already made submissions are Peter Odili of Rivers State, James Ibori of Delta State, Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State, George Acumen of Bennie State, Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, Jolly Nyame of Taraba, Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia and Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and lately Boni Haruna of Adamawa state. Igbinedion’s sessions with the commission reportedly led the EFCC to postpone the investigation of the former governor of Adamawa State .
This invitation and subsequent negotiation seems like the actualization (or a pretence of it) of the plethora of vows by the EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu to prosecute alleged corrupt state governors on whom he had generated enough incriminating evidence concerning looting and/or misappropriation of funds meant for the people of their various states.
The EFCC Chairman in his usual policeman’s outburst in public gathering convinced Nigerians to believe that so many governors (then serving) were under investigation but the commission could not do them anything (as at then) because of the immunity conferred on them by their office. However, since the former governors and other elected/appointed officers left office in May, it is a matter of regret that the EFCC have appeared to be chasing shadows (or wrongly indicated that) in matters that pertains to bringing rogue former governors to account for their stewardship.
Frankly speaking, most Nigerians may not be too bothered about any covert deal between Ribadu and some rogue governors (former) as rumoured in the media but are more likely to be keenly interested in the damage ranking of the corrupt governors in the EFCC’s new-found damage limitation/assessment initiative.
The question Ribadu should answer to Nigerians on whose interests he pretends to be serving is: Why is the EFCC not beaming its light on the scores of allegations of fraud and corruption leveled against the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo?
The fulcrum of the entire fleet of corruption scandal in the last eight years of democratic rule revolves around the Obasanjo – presidency. Chief Obasanjo personally controlled all financial dealings of the NNPC, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and other parastataals under the Petroleum Ministry including the controversial Petroleum Development Trust Fund (PTDF).
Also, the current or rather outgoing Group Managing Director of the NNPPC Chief Funso Kupolokun was a personal assistant to the President on petroleum affairs during the better part of the period when the former president acted as sole administrator and sole -determinant signatory to the NNPC/DPR accounts. This was before Kupolokun was posted to oversee the activities of the NNPC as the corporation’s chief executive. Even after assigning Kupolokun to NNPC, Chief Obasanjo was still calling the shots from the Presidency under the pretence of checking fraud and corruption in the nation’s apex oil concern.
The EFCC would be doing the nation a lot of good if it beams its searchlight on Obasanjo’s monumental acquisitions in the last eight years, including the sale of public assets to himself and his cronies in the criminal send-off bazaar conducted during the dying days of his regime.
EFCC should ask Obasanjo how his Ota Farm, which was struggling for survival in 1999 became a multi-billion naira commercial enterprise spread over six states in just eight years of tenancy of Aso Rock Villa,
including a new farm in Olokoda which will produce 10,000 broilers per day.
EFCC should investigate the quantum leap in Obasanjo’s assets over
eight years. For instance, Nigerians want to know how he got the N700 million he refunded to MOFAS account in a single cheque.
Obasanjo never denied news magazine report that he contributed to the collapse of Hallmark Bank by overdrawing a campaign account in that bank to the tune of N2.6 billion.
Obasanjo is yet to deny an online publication linking him and his family to the ownership of oil blocs held in trust by a brother-in-law and some foreign companies.
Obasanjo is yet to deny media reports linking him to huge shares in banks, airlines particularly Arik Air, steel companies (Delta Steel, Aladja), insurance and petrochemical (Eleme) company while in office. Where did he get the N200 million he spent on the purchase of shares in Transcorp?
What is the source of the funds which have been used to transform a small, backwater high school in Ota into a multi-billion naira educational empire that comprises of a university, The Bells University of Technology? Is it from his salary as President?
It was a known secrete that Niger Delta governors (formers) used allocations for their various states to buy public companies for Obasanjo in addition to funding all the criminal activities of PDP. This was in addition to personal acquisitions made with state funds. Earlier in the life of Obasanjo’s rule, it was the former Rivers State governor, Dr Peter Odili who bank-rolled most of the dirty deals for Obasanjo and the PDP. However, he was dumped and replaced by the former Delta State governor Chief James Ibori on the pretence of incriminating evidence of corruption generated on him from EFCC investigations. So the searchlight on the probe of former office holders should start from the number officers in that set- up.
It is equally a known secrete that the former Rivers state governor, Dr Peter Odili is the owner of Arik Airlines though it was rumoured that Obasanjo has some good stake in the project.
The above cases may just be mere scratches on the surface of the cases of investment using looted state funds.
SAINT AZUH, AP PLAZA ANNEX, WUSE II ABUJA (saint_azuh@yahoo.com)
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