FARIDA NOT QUALIFIED TO HEAD EFCC - OBASANJO

Olusegun Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the erstwhile chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Farida Waziri was not the right person to have been appointed to head the anti-graft agency.     

Obasanjo made the remark in an interview with EFCC magazine, Zero Tolerance, Special Anniversary Edition released yesterday.

“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,” he said.

“If James Ibori, who is now in a U.K. prison for fraud, head-hunts somebody who will fight corruption in Nigeria, then you can understand what happened,” the former president said.

“Well, 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 organization elsewhere; did Waziri have that type? What connection did she have with FBI, what relationship did she have with Metropolitan Police in London, what did she know, it’s not a picnic! While Ribadu was doing it, he was doing it with all his ability and I believe he did it well.’ Obasanjo said he himself was investigated by the anti-graft agency. “I was investigated. I told EFCC to investigate me. I told EFCC to carry out clinical investigation and they did,” he said.

“They also did same with all people on my farm. One of them was telling me the other day how Lamorde called him three times and took statements from him. The EFCC even made sure they did not submit that report to me; they waited until I left and updated their report after going round the world and saying look this is the report.

“Nobody should be below board in the fight against corruption,” he added.

Obasanjo said his administration reduced Nigeria’s position on the International Corruption perception index from number 2 to its lowest standing of 45, saying that now it has risen to number 34.

He denied he interfered with the investigation of the EFCC during his tenure, arguing that he never asked Nuhu Ribadu for selective investigation or prosecution of any perceived enemies.

Obasanjo revealed that his former Vice president Atiku Abubakar was then investigated by the EFCC because of a letter sent from America alleging that he was corrupt.