The former EFCC chairman says Mr. Obasanjo used EFCC for third term agenda.
The former EFCC boss accused Mr. Obasanjo of manipulating the EFCC under Nuhu Ribadu to hunt political opponents in Mr. Obasanjo’s effort to secure a third term in office.
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.”
The former president had told a publication of the EFCC, Zero Tolerance, that Mrs. Waziri was a disaster to Nigeria’s effort against corruption, questioning her qualification for the appointment in the first place, and accusing , Mrs Waziri of having been appointed on the recommendation of convicted former governor, Delta state, James Ibori.
Mr. Obasanjo said Mrs. Waziri, a retired police officer, who took over as chairperson of EFCC after the removal of Mr. Ribadu, did so much to reverse Mr. Ribadu’s achievements in the war against corruption.
“I know that the woman they brought in to replace Ribadu (Farida Waziri) was not the right person for that job, because I understood that one of those who head-hunted her was James Ibori,” Mr. Obasanjo had told the paper.
“If James Ibori, who is now in a U.K. prison for fraud, head-hunt somebody who will fight corruption in Nigeria, then you can understand what happened,” he added.
When questioned further on his stance on the former anti-graft chief, Mr. Obasanjo said Mrs. Waziri was not adequately qualified to head the EFCC.
“Well, go and look at her track record,” he said. “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,” he added.
In a reaction on Wednesday, Mrs. Waziri warned Mr. Obasanjo to respect his age and watch his comments, and accused him of using Mr. Ribadu, who served under Mr. Obasanjo, to witch-hunt political opponents in a “rabid” pursuit of a third term.
“Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Dr (Mrs) Farida Waziri,OFR has reminded former President Olusegun Obasanjo that ability to be used to witch hunt political enemies in the rabid pursuit of a third term agenda has never been part of the qualifications for appointment as chairman of the anti-graft agency,” Mrs. Waziri said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mrs. Waziri denied meeting Mr. Ibori ahead of her appointment to the EFCC, a claim she made earlier in a separate interview with the same EFCC publication. Mr. Ibori is serving a jail term in United Kingdom for stealing state funds.
The former EFCC boss said she was fully qualified to have headed to the agency given the stipulations of the law.
She said, “On the issue of qualifications raised by Obasanjo, the qualification for appointment as chairman of the Commission as stipulated in its Establishment Act says 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’. Late President Yar’adua did not have to alter the Establishment Act when he was appointing me unlike what Obasanjo did”.
“Again for the records, I served in the Nigeria Police force for 35 years and got to the pinnacle of my career before my appointment as 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 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 SFU, I did not only relate with FBI, Interpol and 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 degree in Law and another Master degree in Strategic studies. I doubt if Obasanjo himself can boast of this level of educational qualifications.
“I will like to warn that those who live in glass house don’t throw stones and as such Obasanjo should not allow me open up on him. Respectable elder statesmen act and speak with decorum.”
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You are fully qualified, from what you said. So why no conviction during your stay in the EFCC? You where unable to arrest the formal Delta state governor at Oghara and later acquinted of all the curruption charges before him, same with formal Edo state governor but Ibori was arrested in the UK and sentence to 13yrs along with most members of the family for the same offense. You still refuse to accept the fact that you reverse the achievement of the past chairman.
ReplyDeleteHer qualification only ended up on paper. And offices she occupied. No wonder that the highest NPF could tell us in her days was 'we're investigating'. And that was all. In EFCC, she had the paper qualification (normal nigerian sickness) without performance. How many people did she convict. Ye-ye woman! EFCC died after Ribadu, a courageous gentleman. That I one guy I would love to be the President of this country, and most of these thieves would hide. I respect him and Buhari so much. Those are the guys who can deliver Nigeria from corruption and start rewarding hard work. Waziri, Lamorde, mtchwwww! All bark and not bite.
DeleteObasanjo should learn the maxim:speak less and listen more. The more he speaks,the more he diminishes himself. He is a great man, no doubt. B
ReplyDeleteMy dear don't mind the baba basket mouth, elder stateman in deed.
ReplyDeleteTell him sweet mummy, tell him to speakless theses days bcos, he has few days to live on planet Earth before returning to the Earth as DUST. He and his boy femi fani POWER, are becoming LOQUACIOUS.
ReplyDeleteMUMU YORUBA elder states man.
EL-MATOSKY who tell U̶̲̥̅̊ dat U̶̲̥̅̊ will not die before Obasanjo.are U̶̲̥̅̊ God or do U̶̲̥̅̊ think people die nowadays on age basis.d way U̶̲̥̅̊ are behaviour with dis ur comment I believe U̶̲̥̅̊ are one of lagos destitute that Fashola has not noticed.
DeleteThe woman is a stupid useless harlot,is she aware that is her job then to expose corrupt officials?why telling us now he will expose obasanjo? One can simply say baba obasanjo was 100 percent correct in castigating her lack of courage to fight corruption when she was the head of efcc.Nigeria have never been fortunate with patriotic leaders...wasted generations
ReplyDeleteThank u for that comment. If she knew he has cans of worms y did she nt go after him while she wz in office or did those cans of worm develop after she left office as d EFCC boss? She should be prosecuted for abuse of office.
Delete@ matosky I guess you must be one of those extraction where there is collapsed of community and elders are not given there place or respected,Obasanjo is telling us the truth just take that into your small brain.
ReplyDeleteEL-MATOSKY or wat did U̶̲̥̅̊ call urself U̶̲̥̅̊ have gradually becomng nuisance in dis platform,ur brain is diminishing everyday U̶̲̥̅̊ are always think negatively.pls U̶̲̥̅̊ are frm which village in Ndigbo state I guess U̶̲̥̅̊ are one of d destitute dat was deported in lagos.tell Farida to comment on how she moved EFCC backward and how she failed to jail Ibori in Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteEl Matosky you are very stupid can't you just make your comment without mentioning tribe? Yes Obasanjo is a yoruba man we all know that. Thanks for opening your big mouth to remind Nigerians.
ReplyDeleteYou are very stupid EL MATOSKY to be addressing Chief Obasanjo as. Mumu-yoruba elder statesman and also to be calling chief Femi Fanikayode his Obasanjo's boy, you lack manners and home-training, you must be an Igbo citizen that doesn't have regards for their parents and their elders.
ReplyDeleteEL-MATOSKY or wat did U̶̲̥̅̊ call urself U̶̲̥̅̊ have gradually becomng nuisance in dis platform,ur brain is diminishing everyday U̶̲̥̅̊ are always think negatively.pls U̶̲̥̅̊ are frm which village in Ndigbo state I guess U̶̲̥̅̊ are one of d destitute dat was deported in lagos.tell Farida to comment on how she moved EFCC backward and how she failed to jail Ibori in Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteA word is enough for the wise,Baba and his cambridge animal should learn the wisdom in silence
ReplyDeleteFarida,you have no integrity at all. If what d man was saying is false,why did you pull back efcc during your tenure,if you were to be serving in a country like u.k. here am sure you will be cooling your heel in prison. You know within you that you destroyed totally what Ribadu had done,you completely brought efcc to disrepute. And you open your small mouth to insult the old man,even if pple don't like d man still we all know he always says d truth. Shame on you with all this your so call qualifications and in practical you can't utilise it because you are a corrupt police officer,saying the man was witch hunting,why not expose it while in office. You don't fit d post, period.
ReplyDeleteEl matotosky you,you don't have any blame because you have no elders at home. Who tell you you will even live to see tomorrow and you are saying someone will die,have you forgotten that a day old dies while above hundred still lives.
ReplyDeleteIf I were Farida, I would go right ahead and open up on him (Obasanjo) instead of issuing empty threats. By remaining silent, Farida would be contributing to the bloated myth surrounding Obasanjo.
ReplyDeleteIt was difficult for her to carry out her assignment when the leader in position used her as a pawn to witch hunt his political enemies.
ReplyDeleteyou said you are going to expose Obasanjo,That means you guys are not doing you work very well, when you guys see just a scam you people will try to expose him. god will kill you people one by one,
ReplyDeleteEL Matosky obsanjo has made mark if he dies now he is fulfilled. But you are no body, you are an irritating feaces hanging in your pit toilet( Spit)nuseating pond scum.
ReplyDeleteWaziri is very stupid ,So she has Obj secrete and she's keeping that? That shows she not competent to hold that post and I don't expect her to be bragging to expose Obj because her job is to expose corrupt leaders or any office holder .
ReplyDeleteObasanjo is least qualified to speak against anybody since he slept with his sons wife. I tink dey hv many tins in common with his boy FFK. Farida is a respectable woman unlike dem.
ReplyDeleteAs an EFCC boss, you only expose those who criticise you? It is a shame
ReplyDeleteDis 'little' guy in the name of elmatosky is making dis forum rather dry and childish! I'm thinking of leaving. Anytime I'm reading comments and I come across his comment I always feel like one pushed into a suffocating dungeon with no possibility of escape! He writes with such immaturity and lack of thoughts! Please change as everyone in this forum hates your ways!!! In essence, Grow up!!! Candid advice from Suraj...
ReplyDeleteWho the hell is this El Matosky? Do you just love writting anything or love being abusive & controversial? Or trying to play "NOTICE ME" gamut? The fact that NE is a free platform to air views does not means pouring out anything whether moderate or not.
ReplyDeleteAm not going to insult you like others but rather advise you. Stop these your abusive and provocative comments, Write RESPONSIBLY!!! That will be good for you.
...............................TQuality
you Uchenna et al, what does Igbos has to do with all these, is the the woman in question from Igbo, pls u people should respect urselves and face ur problems,Igbos don't cover bad things by prostrating flat like you people.
ReplyDeleteNigeria Eye why don't you guys do something about this El Matosky of a person; he's abusing this forum and it could affect patronage. In as much as freedom of speech is encouraged, it should be done responcibly. Block him out if you have to!
ReplyDeleteMadam Waziri, please open up on Obasanjo because we want to laugh very loud. The files are there for you to open and speak up. Are you a coward? We want to know who killed Bola Ige. And one day, you will all open up to the world.
ReplyDeleteI am sure if madam Waziri has anything to expose about former president Obasanjo, she should have done so. I am sorry to say that, Mrs. Waziri got it wrong. When Mr. Obasanjo said "you are not qualified, I am sure he did not mean your paper qualifications but he meant your mind, your belief and past achievements in tackling corruption". The way you responded to Mr. Obasanjo's comments shows to me that it's political and childish. I would expect you to also write on your achievements prior to becoming chairman of EFCC and during your time in EFCC. This will further strentghen your case.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot rubish or insult baba Obasanjo. "You no fit". Thank you for expressing how you felt.
I think the publisher of NE should actually live up to the content above the post comment:''Comments are Moderated. Clean Comments will be swiftly approved. No swear words, no racism, allowed''.
ReplyDeleteThat is all I can say as per the lingering issue here.Let us all be objective in our comments and avoid sentimental or tribalistic statements.It earns us nothing.FFK has made NE more popular with his controversal articles.So please check your write up and morals before you post even if you choose to be annonymous.
SHE CAN NOT OPEN UP OBJ COS SHES NOT THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THAT JOB , I SUPPORT BABA 4 THAT . YOUR QUALIFICATION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS . HOW MANY EX GOVERNORS DID YOU JAIL , HOW MANY POLITICIAN DID YOU BRING DOWN NOON . ONLY YAHOO YAHOO BOYS .... SHE FAILED SIMPLE AND SHES NOT THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB.
ReplyDeleteSorry o Na now u want to begin EFCC job.
ReplyDeleteI don't get this.Are we now saying because someone is'elderly'if d person is involved in financial crime,there must b immunity against prosecution?d way I see it obasanjo & farida should b behind bars 4 aiding 4 abbeting of corruption in naija. Naija pple know ds 4 fact corruption has no tribe. & wen ds ruling elite ar moving our collective finance dem no dey fight o na only u and I dey speak grammar here!!! We need to wise u people... Odun Tutu
ReplyDeleteWhat I do not understand is why Nigeria keeps choosing the head of EFCC from the rank of Police Officers. Is that because you need one thief to catch another? On the other hand, why is Obasanjo complaining about Waziri's qualifications and readiness to head the EFCC. Wasn't he the one that recommended and appointed her before she was confirmed by the corrupt Senate? I hold him responsible for her appointment, regardless of who may have pressured him to select her. Afterall he was the President and hence responsible party.
ReplyDeleteNigerian Eye, please it may do a lot of good to Nigerians if your moderators does their job. Infact people were just left to make all kinds of insultive language unhindered.I don't if that's proper.
ReplyDeleteYour response to Obasanjo"s remark is nothing but a confirmation of his assessment of your failure to fulfill your stewardship as expected. Another point you raised could be faulted in the fact that none of the accused individuals has signified that the charges against them were absolute false. Why don't we give the man the credit of taking the courage to establish the EFCC!
ReplyDelete