Waziri to Obasanjo: Respect your age or I'll expose you

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.
Source:punch