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| Farida Waziri |
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| Nuhu Ribdu |
An erstwhile Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri has warned her predecessor, Nuhu Ribadu against using
her name anytime he needs public attention or sympathy.
Her reaction was contained in a statement signed by her Personal
Assistant, Ms Omolara Oluremi on Saturday in Abuja.
Ribadu was the defeated 2015 governorship candidate of the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State.
Waziri said, “My attention has been drawn to a reckless and
irresponsible statement credited to Nuhu Ribadu at a function on Wednesday in
Abuja, where he, as has been his rhetoric since 2008 when I succeeded him as
the EFCC Chairman, attempted to malign me by accusing me of being part of his
imaginary enemies who frustrated the nation’s anti-graft war. My first
inclination was to ignore Nuhu Ribadu since I know he is always obsessed with
dropping my name into his script anytime he needs public pity or political relevance
but on a second thought I felt I should advise him to leave me out of his
frustrations and face life.
"There should be a life after EFCC. If after eight years of being
removed as EFCC Chairman, he is yet to move on with life, even after two successive
Chairmen had occupied the same seat and moved on with their lives, then his
problem may be psychogenic. He needs help elsewhere, certainly not from me.
“If Nuhu is yet to face the reality that EFCC is a Federal Government
Agency and not a personal estate of anybody eight years after, I find it
compelling to remind him, otherwise one day he would wake up to blame me for
his defeat in the 2011 presidential election and even his pathetic outing in
the 2015 governorship election in Adamawa state despite the slush funds
deployed to ensure his victory at the polls. I equally suspect that Nuhu may
sooner than later blame me for his penchant to jump from one party to the party
like a political prostitute; from the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to
PDP and now to All Progressives Congress (APC).
"It is his lust for power, inordinate ambition and desperation for
political relevance that continue to push him to dine and wine, and even enjoy
the wealth of those he had labeled as corrupt in yesteryears. He can’t hold me
responsible for his double face, lack of principle and complex contradictions
in his character.
“There is also the need to remind Nuhu Ribadu that before he succumbs
to another logorrhea, he should avail himself a copy of the investigative
report on recovered assets during his tenure as EFCC Chairman and use the
opportunity of the next naming ceremony or birthday party he is invited to, to
explain to Nigerians what happened to billions of funds and assets recovered
from suspects under him, with no records or documentation. He should be
grateful to me that I cleaned his mess by creating an Assets Forfeiture Unit to
put the records straight and do things rightly.
“No matter how hard Nuhu tries to obliterate my tenure with his
numerous lies, the record of over 450 convictions secured during my three and a
half year sojourn in EFCC remains indelible. Though I inherited about 10 high
profile cases from him in 2008, we took over 75 of such high profile cases to
courts, with another 1,500 low profile cases pending in courts as at my exit in
November 2011.
"We initiated and commenced work on the permanent office complex
of the EFCC sitting on a 5.5 hectares of land along Airport Road, Abuja, in
addition to setting up offices in Maiduguri, Borno state and Ibadan, Oyo state
to expand the Commission’s scope of operations. I can go on and on, on my
achievements. I have decided to mention just a few for now to discourage Nuhu
from claiming the credit for them when next he wants to make himself happy or
seek political relevance.
“At this juncture, let me advise Nuhu Ribadu to stop being a weeping
man. Garrulity does not heal frustration or depression. He may consider vying
for a local government chairmanship or councillorship position to get busy so that
he can stop spewing falsehood, fables and lies to seek public sympathy and
political relevance.”
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