Fani-Kayode
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is set to invite
former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a former National
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae, and others
alleged to have illegally received government funds through the last
presidential campaign for questioning next week, Saturday Punch
investigation has revealed.
It was learnt that the commission on Thursday revisited
investigations into funding of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015
campaign.
Saturday Punch learnt that with the arrest of the former Finance
Director of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Nenadi Usman,
the anti-graft commission had reopened its investigations into the
funding of Jonathan’s campaign.
It was also learnt that the EFCC had last month begun
investigations into the funding of Jonathan’s campaign, but suspended
the probe because the director of finance of the organisation was out of
the country.
Investigations showed that the commission had revisited the probe
and that those who were alleged to have illegally collected funds
through the campaign would be invited next week.
The former minister was arrested on Thursday over N2.5bn she allegedly received from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Usman was alleged to have transferred the funds to several persons
through the bank account of a company, Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria
Limited.
Fani-Kayode, who was the Spokesperson for the Goodluck Jonathan
Campaign Organisation during the last election, was alleged to have
received N840m, while Olu Falae allegedly received N100m through a
company, Marreco Limited, where he is chairman.
It was learnt that the EFCC would invite Fani-Kayode; Falae and
ex-political adviser to Jonathan, Prof. Rufai Alkali, who was the
Coordinator of the Goodluck Support Group, which allegedly collected
N320m.
A source in the EFCC said, “Nenadi Usman holds the key to the
investigation. With her arrest, the EFCC has reopened the investigation
which was suspended when she was out of the country.”
It was learnt that although the commission had concluded plans to
invite those involved as from next week, the timing of the invitation
might change depending on Nenadi Usman’s statement.
Criticising the Jonathan administration, the APC said that the
EFCC’s probes were not one-sided. The National Vice Chairman of the APC
(South South), Halliard Eta, in an interview with Saturday Punch ,said
that the administration financed Jonathan’s campaign with government
funds.
He recalled that when former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in
power, most of those who were arrested for corruption were members of
the Peoples Democratic Party.
He stated, “In the last 16 years, the only time that there was a
little bit seriousness about the fight against corruption was when we
had the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
“At that time, Obasanjo was pursuing people who were corrupt
and ninety per cent of the people were found in the PDP. Our government
is just following in the footsteps of the Obasanjo regime. When they
were pursuing corrupt people, they were pursuing themselves because they
are more corrupt.
“When we were contesting the 2015 election, we were in the
opposition. We did not have the NSA (National Security Adviser). We did
not have the Central Bank. It is now that we have those. We are not
talking of people donating to campaigns. We are talking of slush funds
from government coffers.”
But, Fani-Kayode, in an article on Friday, alleged that former
governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and his Rivers State
counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, funded President Muhammadu Buhari’s
campaign.
Fani-Kayode, who is a former Minister of Aviation, said this in an article titled, ‘The Money Transfers and the Truth about the Presidential Campaign Funds’, which he wrote in reaction to allegations levelled against him by the EFCC.
Fani-Kayode had confessed to receiving N840m as the director of
publicity during the electioneering last year, but noted that he did not
know that the funds emanated from the account of the Central Bank of
Nigeria.
He, however, described the investigations as a witch-hunt and urged
the EFCC to beam its searchlight on Fashola and Amaechi who have since
been appointed ministers in Buhari’s government.
Fani-Kayode said, “Instead of using the EFCC to try to rubbish
me and my colleagues and smear our good names, those that are in power
today should tell us where they got their campaign funds from and how
much of it came from the governments of Lagos and Rivers states.
“The two people that headed those two state governments then
are now both federal ministers today. One of them, who was the
Director-General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, was specifically
indicted by a judicial commission of inquiry for using millions of
dollars of state government funds to run the Buhari campaign, yet
nothing happened and his reward was to be appointed as a minister.”
Fani-Kayode alleged that even in the March 19, 2015 rerun election
in Rivers State, Amaechi transported N5bn to the state but the EFCC had
done nothing about it.
He added, “Again what about the N5bn cash that was flown down
to Port Harcourt in Rivers State from Abuja in chartered plane a couple
of days before the rerun election that took place on March 19, 2016?
Where did they get that amount of cash from and what was its purpose and
source?
“What has the EFCC said or leaked about that? It appears that
there is one law for those that are in power today and another for those
that are not. Why persecute the innocent and leave the guilty? Was it a
crime to fight and lose an election?”
The former minister said Buhari spent 10 times more than Jonathan
during the last election. He said Buhari as the presidential candidate
of the All Progressives Congress, hired the same campaign managers that
headed United States President’s campaign.
Fani-Kayode alleged that the campaign managers were paid $10m. He
also claimed that the Jonathan campaign team was underfunded as it was
not even given vehicles with which to move around during the
electioneering.
He added, “I might add that we spent far less money than the
APC and the Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation because they had
access to massive amounts of state government funds and they used those
funds effectively. For every million naira we spent, they spent 10.
“They even contracted the services of a famous American media
consultant (the same one that President Obama used in 2008) and paid him
$10m for his counsel and advice. They had fleets of cars and buses
whilst my directorate was not even given one vehicle to get our people
around.
“The official jeep that was meant to have been given to us for
our operations during the campaign was highjacked and it never arrived.
“We were forced to use our own personal vehicles and we were
glad to do so. Yet the other side had everything that money could buy.
They even chartered numerous private jets throughout the campaign to get
around the country. Where did they get all their funding from? Why is
the EFCC not leaking stories or talking about that?”
Faulting Fani-Kayode, the APC National Vice-Chairman said the
ex-spokesman should provide proof, if he alleged that the two APC
governors financed Buhari’s campaigns.
“It is not just by making allegations. They should bring proof.
In our own case, we have brought proof, people are returning money. Is
that not so? These are some of the things we must interrogate. In fact,
there is no need for us to respond to them (PDP campaign). The fact
speaks for itself.”
Falae’s reaction
In his reaction, Chief Falae said he had never been invited by the
EFCC or any anti-graft commission, adding that his company too had never
been touched by the anti-graft commission.
He said, “I have said it in several interviews that both myself
and my party have nothing whatsoever to do with Dansuki or Jonathan
campaign Director or anybody that it was Tony Anenih as Chairman Board
of Trustee of the PDP who approached SDP, my party, through me that we
should support their candidate. I also said that we gave them some
conditions which he accepted.”
If eventually invited, the former Minister for Finance said he
would honor the invitation as he said he had no skeleton in his
cupboard.
“I will honour the invitation if I am invited, but I have not
been invited by anybody because they know I have nothing to explain, I
have explained everything. I know I didn’t do anything that is illegal,
they just want to use that to embarrass me.”
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