Who was the boss? Ribadu to Waziri: I never worked under you

So who was the boss? I dey laugh o...

The pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday faulted his successor, Mrs. Farida Waziri, for alleging that the agency was used for political motives.

He said the EFCC was not used to pursue the botched Third Term agenda of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.He also said contrary to the claim by Mrs. Waziri, he lectured her and others, on fraud investigation and prosecution when she was newly posted to head the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU).He alleged that Mrs. Waziri engaged in a “naked lie” that she was his boss to “seek undue relevance and validate her own appointment”.Ribadu, who bared his mind in a personal statement in Abuja, warned Mrs. Waziri against rubbishing the work of the EFCC in a bid to settle scores with any individual.The statement said: “My attention has been drawn to the press statement issued by the immediate past chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, in a reaction to statements credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.“While I had tried not to comment on the activities of the EFCC or my successors in office to avoid subjectivism, I however find it expedient to clear my name of careless and mischievous references made by Mrs. Waziri.“ I am, therefore, writing this with utmost reluctance, public debate having been polluted with deliberate tincture of amnesia, necessitating umpteenth repetition of a simple fact that should have sank once and for all. It is sad that merchants of falsehood keep recycling crooked statements to the point of cliche, in spite of attempts at clarifications.“Firstly, it is not correct that I worked under Mrs. Waziri, as she always claims. This is a naked lie that she keeps flaunting to seek undue relevance and validate her own appointment.“At no time in my career did I work under the same section or unit as her. In fact, contrary to Waziri’s claim that she trained me, it was I that actually lectured her and others on fraud investigation and prosecution when she was newly posted as Head of Special Fraud Unit, even though she was my senior in rank. I was then the Head of Prosecution at the Tribunals under the leadership of Mr. Sunday Ehindero, then CP Legal.”Ribadu insisted that EFCC under his leadership was not used to pursue the botched Third Term Agenda of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.He said the EFCC halted its work on the politically-exposed persons throughout the period of the third term debacle, to insulate and protect the integrity of the Commission.The statement added: “On the issue that EFCC under my leadership was used to push through the aborted third term agenda, it is evident that Mrs. Waziri, who was nowhere near EFCC at the time, is ignorant of what transpired.“It is saddening that after all the damage inflicted on the operations and credibility of the EFCC by Mrs. Waziri, she turns back to abuse the young men and women who had put in all their energy in cleaning up our country, especially during that critical time, by dismissing their work and sacrifice.“As I had cause to state in a recent article on my stewardship of the EFCC, we almost deliberately avoided going after governors and public servants from the opposition to avoid the charges of bias or doing the bidding of the government.“Moreover, we halted our works on the politically exposed persons throughout the period of the third term debacle, to insulate and protect the integrity of the Commission.”Ribadu warned Waziri against rubbishing the hard-earned integrity of the commission and its operativesHe said: “EFCC was not about Nuhu Ribadu. Rubbishing its work, therefore, is like insulting all the thousands of its operatives across the country who put their lives in the line to make Nigeria a better country.“If Mrs. Waziri has a personal score to settle with anybody, she should direct her attack at the person but not the organisation.”