Musiliu Obanikoro, a former minister of state for
defence, has narrated how N1.219 billion
cash was airlifted to Ayodele Fayose, former Ekiti state governor, in 2014.
Giving evidence as a witness of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, Obanikoro told the court that he
received the money from Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA),
as directed by Fayose.
“I was a minister under Jonathan’s administration in 2014.
Sometime in 2014, we were going to have an election in Ekiti State. I was
saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the activities in the
election,” Obanikoro said.
“Some days before the election, I got a call from governor
Fayose asking me if I received any message for him from ONSA, I can recall that
prior to that, we had some activities among which was fundraising for the
purpose of that election.
“When Mr. Fayose called, I told him I would call him later.
I had a phone conversation with the NSA and was told he would get back to me.
After, he got back to me that N2.2 billion was paid into the account of Sylvan
Mcnamara Ltd.”
The former minister said he did not know the source of the
funds, adding that “only the NSA can explain the source of the fund”.
“I handed over the N1.219 million cash to Agbele for onward
delivery to Fayose. I did not take any money or N19 million, contrary to a publication by a Lagos-based online
platform,” he said.
When asked about his relationship with Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd,
the former minister stated that “the account was created to deal with the issue
of Boko Haram in Lagos”.
“The account was created by Taiwo Kareem and was used for
the purpose of disbursing funds for election,” he added.
“I put a call through to let Fayose know that the money had
been paid.
“Diamond Bank had said it did not have the capacity to make
the funds available, so we opted to airlift the funds. The funds were airlifted from Lagos in two
tranches, the volume was much.
“Myself, my ADC and
my security orderly were there, including a top aide of Fayose to meet Mr. Agbele, the bank manager.
I instructed my orderly to escort Mr Agbele and ensure the safe delivery of the
money.
“We airlifted the funds from Lagos in two tranches because
the aircraft could not accommodate the funds. We used two aircraft and I was in
one of the aircraft.”
Nnamdi Dimgba, the presiding judge, adjourned the matter to
February 27, 2024 for continuation of trial.
Fayose is being prosecuted by the EFCC, alongside his firm,
Spotless Investment Limited, following their alleged involvement in N6.9
billion money laundering.
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Its same Fayose that will be talking nonsense to the hearing of Nigerians when he should be in jail for corruption.
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