Tag: Fayose

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters (SAP-POM), Senator Babafemi Ojudu, has said that Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) goons lied against him.

He said in a statement:

“My attention has been drawn to a statement by Governor Fayose and his version of the PDP in Ekiti State, signed by Jackson Adebayo, who addressed himself as the publicity secretary.

“Ordinarily, I would have waived off the lie told against my person as one of the cheap propaganda spewed by Fayose’s goons in an attempt to save the drowning man. He has done this against his real and perceived enemies and Ojudu-bashing has been one of his straws. Having used Lere Olayinka and drained him of every iota of truth, he has descended on the so- called Jackson Adebayo.

“However, considering the  situation faced by my people in Ekiti and at a time like this, when hunger is the only thing Fayose as a governor can dish out to them, as he steals their money blindly, I consider it my responsibility to respond to the mischievous missive. In doing so, I believe my people will be better informed.

“First, let me state correctly that the parameter for accessing a bailout or any other Federal Government’s largesse is the same for all states and no person, no matter how highly placed, can doctor that of any state to score cheap political point.

“Secondly, as the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, I’m not in the economic team of Mr. President, and as such have no input in the allocations going to any state, be it that of monthly or bailout. I am simply an adviser on political matters.

“Thirdly, the only person saddled with the responsibility of claiming whatever belongs to a state is the governor. No other person can influence or dissuade government from granting it.

“Fourthly, it will be foolhardy of anyone to block the benefits accrued to his home state in the name of playing politics. President Muhammadu Buhari or Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will neither respect such opinion nor the person coming up with it.

“Fifthly, assuming that I have the privilege of influencing the bailout or meeting the set parameters, I will use such influence to favour my home state, considering that I have relatives and loved ones among the workers at the state and local levels suffering under Fayose’s mis-governance.

“Having listed the incontrovertible facts, I would still want to ask Fayose and his PDP goons to make public the said petition allegedly written to Mr. President by the All Progressives Congress (APC), begging him to marginalise Ekiti from benefitting from the bailout. I will also ask Fayose to make public the efforts he is making to meet the parameters set for accessing the bailout.

“Ekiti workers have never had it this worse under any government. They are now wiser. They can no longer be swooned by Fayose’s pranks. They know they are in a one-chance bus and they don’t need anyone to tell them to alight whenever they have the opportunity.”

Embattled Ekiti State governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, came under heavy bashing  yesterday as a northern group and a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) carpeted the governor for linking the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, to the Halliburton scandal.

The Northern Alternative Forum, a political pressure group, and APC chieftain in Kaduna State, Yusuf Ali {Raba Gardama}, said the governor was only trying to divert attention from the allegation of widespread corruption leveled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja at different occasions, the Chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Gidado Ibrahim and Ali stressed that the embattled governor’s attempt to drag Mrs.  Buhari into the corruption and bribery controversy was a needless distraction.

The duo urged Mr. Fayose to rather clear himself from the alleged arms deal fraud and stop spreading falsehood.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, Ibrahim said Fayose is on a wild goose chase to divert attention from the allegation of widespread corruption leveled against him by the EFCC.

“For Fayose to link the wife of the president to the corruption trial of Congressman Jefferson or any impostor called Aisha Buhari is a joke taken too far, to say the least.

“But for his lack of education and exposure, a simple search on Google could have revealed to Fayose that the Aisha Buhari in question was not the wife of the President.

“But as you know, even Fayose’s educational qualifications are suspicious, therefore he cannot act beyond his capacity,” he said.

He said the governor has formed the habit of casting aspersions and spreading falsehood against the President and his government, but what has become of Ekiti after Fayose took over was a huge embarrassment and disgrace to the highly urbane and educated people of the state.

Gidado said: “This is a man who became governor through the proceeds of corruption and then went ahead to mismanage the resources of the state to the extent that even diesel cannot be procured to power the generator in Government House.

“Workers are languishing in penury and patients are dying in the hospitals, yet he behaves as if everything is well in his state because he does not see things beyond his nose.”

He described Aisha Buhari as a quintessential housewife and a mother whose integrity is beyond doubt, and appealed to Nigerians to disregard Fayose’s latest accusation as “a cocktail of lies from a sinking politician who is bent of dragging the name of the president in the mud in the futile attempt to cover his misdeeds.

“I am confident that nemesis will soon catch up with Fayose because he is just living in a fool’s paradise.”

Also, in an interview with newsmen in Abuja, Ali said the Ekiti State governor has lost all sense of propriety to the extent of maligning the wife of the president in the media.

The APC Chieftain said: “We are being treated yet to another circus by Fayose. This time around as usual, the governor is treating us with cocktail of lies that could not be discussed even in the market square.

“To claim that the said Aisha Buhari mentioned severally in a case of bribery and corruption against US Congressman Jefferson is the wife of the president is a clear indication that Fayose has gone berserk in his struggle to drag the name of the President in the mud,” he said.

Ali said a simple search on Google could have saved the governor this “huge embarrassment” but that he only succeeded in proving to the world that he lacks the basic knowledge and decorum to make constructive criticism of the ruling APC.

“It is no longer news that Fayose’s educational qualifications have been suspicious all this while, but what he did is to prove to the world that he is indeed a motor park tout who lacks both educational and street knowledge. No wonder Ekiti under Fayose has gradually turned into a failed state,” said Ali.

The APC chieftain said in order to further prove Fayose’s accusation wrong, he took his time to dig into the background of the said Aisha Buhari, who is known in the security circle both in Nigeria and the United States of America as a serial scammer, whose stock in trade is to drop the name of President Buhari as either her father or relation in order to curry undeserved favour.

Ali equally wondered how the media, particularly the social media, could have been saturated with such falsehood when they have all the information and resources at their disposal to dig into the fact and expose Fayose as a barefaced liar.

Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has insisted that his election for the 2014 governorship poll was bankrolled by Zenith Bank despite the financial institution’s denial.

Fayose, in a statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, challenged the bank to come out with an official statement on the matter “rather than staying in a corner in a matter of national concern like this”.

In the statement entitled: Election funding: I stand by my story of Zenith’s involvement,” said all what the bank had just said “can be situated in the realm of rumour”.

Fayose said: “I stand by my claim that Zenith Bank Plc majorly funded my election in June 2014.

“I don’t expect an organisation like Zenith Bank to stay in a corner in matter of national concern like this and be talking.

“Rather, I expect the Zenith Bank to issue an official statement not as feeble as this one being peddled in the media, so that I can begin the second stage of my revelations.

“My statement was made in the open and if I can accuse an institution like Zenith Bank in the open, I expect the institution to give official reply.

“All what have been claimed to have been said by the Zenith Bank in the media can be situated in the realm of rumour.

“And I want to refer the APC, the Zenith Bank and the EFCC to John chapter 8 verses 6-7, which says,” This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

“When they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.

“Let those who are orchestrating this know that failure awaits them.”

Detectives were yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, to arrest some suspects in the N4.7billion arms cash probe.

But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) men found nobody. Their targets were said to have gone into hiding in the palatial Oke Ayoba Government House.

“They are all holed up in the place but they can’t hide forever,” an EFCC source said last night.

But Fayose threatened to name others involved in the transfer of money into his account “if they cannot stand by what they did because of the threat from the EFCC.

He accused Zenith Bank of succumbing to intimidation. But, according to a source, the bank reported the “suspicious transactions” of N4.745billion by Fayose’s associate, Abiodun Agbele, to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

An EFCC source, who pleaded not to be named, said Zenith Bank reported the N1.219billion suspicious transactions by Musiliu Obanikoro and Agbele to the NFIU.

“We have been on this case for a while. From the facts available, Zenith Bank reported the transactions to NFIU,” the source added.

“We have intelligence report that some of these people wanted in connection with the ongoing investigation have been moved to the Government House in Ado-Ekiti.”

On the reaction of Fayose to the EFCC fact-sheet, the source said: “We have nothing to react to at all because we have put the incontrovertible facts in the public domain.

“Let Fayose go and defend himself. We will not take up issues with him any longer. And having shifted his defence to Zenith Bank, it is the duty of the media to hear from the bank.”

The EFCC has traced about N4.75 billion of the diverted $2.1 billion arms cash to Fayose and former Minister of State (Defence) Musiliu Obanikoro. Fayose accused his bankers of succumbing to what he called “EFCC intimidation” in a bid to nail him (Fayose).

He claimed that the electoral expenses for his 2014 Ekiti poll victory were funded by Zenith Bank Plc, fundraising, donations from friends and associates as well as sales of campaign souvenirs.

Fayose said: “I have no financial transaction whatsoever with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro either by cash, cheque or electronic transfer.”

In a statement  by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose challenged the EFCC to publish statements made by Obanikoro, his son or any other person associated with money from the NSA office where they claimed they gave him money for the election.

He accused the EFCC of “acting a movie scripted, produced and directed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Muhammadu Buhari just to silence me being a major opposition voice in the country.”

Fayose challenged the EFCC to beam its searchlight on the funding of the APC election campaign, alleging that an oil giant donated $60 million to the campaign of the then opposition party.

On how he came about the funds for his election, Fayose alleged that he was invited by the management of Zenith Bank, which he claimed nominated an officer to manage the account.

The governor said: “The management of Zenith Bank, which majorly funded my election, called me to a meeting where I was assured that fund will be provided for my election.  I was asked to nominate a trusted ally to be related with and I nominated Mr Abiodun Agbele.

“All the payments into Abiodun Agbele’s account domiciled in Zenith Bank were directly from Zenith Bank. In actual fact, the account was opened by Zenith Bank hurriedly at that time and Abiodun Agbele’s identity card which ought to have been collected before the account was opened was only collected last week in the bank’s desperation to perfect the account, obviously after submitting to the intimidation and harassment of the EFCC.

“Most of the funds posted into Agbele’s account were through the Ibadan, Akure and Lagos branches of the Zenith Bank and, sometimes, they brought cash.

“Assuming but not conceding that cash moved from Lagos to Akure as being claimed by the EFCC in its usual manner of media trial, was meant for my election in Ekiti, why was the cash not moved to Ado-Ekiti branch of Zenith Bank or the cash handed to me directly?

“Why was it deposited into Zenith Bank, Akure and did the bank make any report on the transaction to the appropriate authorities? Why did the bank send its bullion van to move the money from Akure Airport to their Akure branch if it was illegal money?

“I must say it categorically that I don’t have any link financially with Obanikoro and I know as a fact that he (Obanikoro) has not; and cannot mention my name, as  a beneficiary of whatever money, any company in which he has interest could have gotten from the ONSA if truly Obanikoro collected money from the ONSA as being claimed by the EFCC.

“Therefore, bringing Obanikoro and his son’s narrative or that the Zenith Bank is telling different stories, having been blackmailed and coerced into submission by the EFCC is a joke that will not fly.

“I wish to state further that if it becomes evidently clear that those who willingly provided money for my election can no longer stand by what they did, maybe because of threat from the EFCC, I will not hesitate to name names.”

Challenging the EFCC to also beam its searchlights on the funding of APC elections, especially that of President Buhari, Fayose said; “Since we are now in the era in which financial assistance from Nigerians to fund elections is being criminalised, the international community, especially those funding EFCC must insist that the commission probes the funding of APC elections before further funds are released to the commission.

“Most importantly, Nigerians are interested in the $60 million allegedly donated to the APC campaign by Sahara Energy, on which EFCC has been forced to suspend investigation.”

He said it was obvious that he had become the main headache of President Buhari’s administration, adding that “what they are doing now is part of their grand plot to intimidate and harass me into submission but I am not someone that can’t be cowed by threats of incarceration and death.

“I advise that they should keep their gun powder dry and wait till the end of my tenure in 2018 and I want to assure them that I will be available to answer any of their questions, no matter how unreasonable.

“Furthermore, Nigerians should know that I have been persecuted by the EFCC before, using phantom N1.2 billion poultry scam and I came out victorious. I was not only acquitted, I got N10 million judgment against the EFCC and my impeachment that was orchestrated by the EFCC was quashed by the Supreme Court.

“Nigerians should recall that it was part of this plot to get back at me because of my critical stance on Buhari’s government that the Ekiti State House of Assembly was invaded by men of the Department of State Service (DSS), placement of travel ban on me and, lately, illegal freezing of my account by the EFCC.

“I therefore make bold to state that in the overall interest of democracy and well-being of Nigerians, I will continue to speak my mind on issues bordering on governance in Nigeria. I cannot be intimidated!”