“EFCC now a toothless bulldog”, says Obasanjo.The NATION, March 6, p 1. After running down the EFCC on that day, Obasanjo heaped praises on the EFCC under his own administration and its Chairman, Malam Nuhu Ribadu. It is quite understandable that Obasanjo should be happy with Ribadu who, unknown to most people who still heap praises on him was mostly incompetent and might have committed treason.
He was also Obasanjo’s protector; he averted his gaze from obvious misdeeds of Obasanjo, supported the third term agenda and hoped to be rewarded with his own second term in office. Before presenting the charges against Ribadu, there is need to continue the list of Abacha family loot forfeited under Decree No 53 of May 1999 and which were handed over to Obasanjo’s government by General Abubakar. From Abacha’s National Security Adviser, Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo, the following assets were taken: Plots 3 and 4, Queen Ida Street, Asokoro (two completed 6 bedroom duplex with a tennis court and swimming pool) and a 6-bedroom duplex in plo4; Plot No 1252, off Yakubu Gowon roundabout, Asokoro 6 No 5 bedroom duplex with boys quarters each; Plot 191, 199, and 208 along Shehu Shagari Way, Asokoro, No 4 6 bedroom duplexes, a completed storey building rented by the Syrian Embassy; A storey building under construction with 8 No 2 bedroom flats; Plot 444, Kontagora Close, Area 3, Garki, 3-storey house; Plot 488, Yabo Close, Garki II, complete duplex; Plot 273. Port Said St, Zone 4, Wuse, 2-storey house; Plots 577 and 578, Blantyre St, Wuse II, No. 4 storey houses of six flats each; large expanse of land in Wuse II, along Ahmadu Bello Way; Plot 2432, Ganges St, off Alvan Ikoku, Maitama, completed duplex; Plot No 9D, Civic Centre Road, Kano, glass front 4 storey building for commercial use; No 4, Dangaladima Road, Zaria and 10 per cent shares valued at $140,000 in West African Refinery, Sierra Leone. From last week, readers would remember that Abacha held 30 per cent of the shares in the same refinery. So, 40 per cent of the shares of that refinery were forfeited to Nigeria in 1999 and handed over to Obasanjo.
In addition to properties, Ismaila Gwarzo was also caught with tons of Nigeria’s money which were again handed to Obasanjo’s government. These include the following sums: N2,000,000, N139,051,033, authorization to collect $2,000,000 from Mr Gilbert Chagoury, N8,363,164,000 [that is N8.3bn+] and N247,903,491. Altogether, even before Obasanjo got into Aso Rock, at least N30-50bn Abacha loot was waiting for him and till today he has not accounted for them. Unfortunately for Nigerians, those were not the only Abacha loot for which Obasanjo had not accounted. There are many more than can be listed here. Let us now list some of the Abacha loot collected when Malam Nuhu Ribadu was Chairman. Please bear in mind when reading that the amounts to be quoted represent Abacha loot collected between 2004 and 2007 ONLY. Then, you would understand why Obasanjo loves Nuhu Ribadu who was a compromised bulldog. He never investigated what happened to those funds. Permit me at this point to acknowledge the contribution of Sonala Olumhense, in providing some of these figures.
The entire list of Abacha loot recoveries will appear in volume two of PDP: CORRUPTION INCORPORATED. However, it will be necessary to bring in three other highly placed, formerly well-respected officials of that administration whose roles might not have been patriotic – Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Mrs Nenadi Usman and Professor Charles Soludo – Ministers of Finance and Governor of Central Bank respectively. Those three will need to tell us what happened to the loot recovered. For Okonjo-Iweala and Usman, their involvement in Jonathan’s mess represents the second time they would serve Nigeria badly by collaborating with presidents.
In August 2004 the Swiss government decided to return $500million [N65bn] of Abacha loot to Nigeria. A little over a year after Okonjo-Iweala announces that Nigeria has recovered $458million [N59.54bn] and about $2bn [N260bn] total assets. In March 2007 Finance Minister said $2.5 billion recorvered funds were given to five Ministries – without the approval of the National Assembly and without being paid into the Federation Account to be shared by all three tiers of government. The Federal government was deliberately robbing the states and local governments under Obasanjo. Yet Nuhu Ribadu, Obasanjo’s favourite bulldog, saw nothing. In the June of 2007 Okonjo-Iweala disclosed at a lecture that between $3 and 5 billion was looted by Abacha in truckloads, with Chief Anthony Ani as CBN Governor. To confirm what Okonjo-Iweala said, Obasanjo himself, during the campaigns for Presidential elections in 2007 had declared that the EFCC under Ribadu had recovered $5bn [N650bn then]. That prompted me to ask in an article published in NATIONAL LIFE, “Where is the loot?”
It is noteworthy that until they left office, neither Obasanjo nor Ribadu accounted for the $5 billion recovered. Incidentally, the looting of the Petroleum Development Trust Fund, PDTF, by Obasanjo’s government, which was roundly condemned by a Senate Committee established to probe that account, was also glossed over by Ribadu. [See PDP: CORRUPTION INCORPORATED, Chapter 6 for a fuller account of how PDTF was raided]. The book had been in circulation for close to eight years and Obasanjo had not dared to challenge the accusations. He knows the truth; even if he pretends. And Ribadu as EFCC Chairman was a disgrace on these matters. Show me your admirers and I will tell you who you are. Obasanjo called Justice Idris “stupid” for asking for the account knowing the man cannot reply. I will do it for Justice Idris. Obasanjo, for failing to disclose how he spent over N650 billion Abacha loot, is dishonest.
BUDGET 2016: IS THIS ANYWAY TO RUN A COUNTRY? “I have to look at the bill Ministry by Ministry to be sure that what has been brought back for me to sign is in line with our original submission”. President Buhari, Friday, April 1, 2016.
The President’s main objection was the absence of details by the National Assembly, NASS. Meanwhile other members are pointing accusing fingers at Senator Goje, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Appropriations for the omission. Goje and his committee members, in self-defence claim, and quite rightly, that the budget sent to them was in a mess. A lot of figures don’t add up; they had to invite Ministers privately to amend the submission made by the Presidency. More to the point, President Buhari seems to have so quickly forgotten that the budget he presented to the NASS last year excluded the details at the time. If the NASS had also taken the same position as he did, it is quite possible the budget would not have been passed until June. Buhari needs to be informed that the world is not waiting for him and Nigeria. He can take for ever if he likes; the world moves on all the same. Economic realities don’t respect presidents. Finally, the APC controls the Executive and legislative branches; yet its leaders cannot work together on something as simple as a budget. Is this the change promised? Or, look we for another?
VANGUARD
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