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.