‘EFCC Has Frozen My Personal Bank Account’ – Fayose Alleges

Indications have emerged on Monday that a personal account run by Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has been frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Fayose’s  personal account in the Zenith Bank, Ado Ekiti branch, was allegedly frozen on the order of the anti-graft agency,  a source in the bank confirmed last night.

The development was later confirmed by a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi and a broadcast relayed on the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES).

The governor who accused the Buhari administration of running a “selective anti-corruption crusade” alleged that the accounts of his political associates and followers were also frozen by the EFCC.

He claimed that he was not informed that he had committed any offence because his account was frozen.

In a message on his Twitter handle, the governor blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for the restriction on his account.

“My personal Account at Zenith Bank has been frozen courtesy of Buhari led APC tyrannical government,” he wrote.

Aisha Buhari Was Indicted In Haliburton Scandal – Fayose

The governor of Ekiti state governor has distributed a link to the US Department of Justice’s website holding court documents where Aisha Buhari was alleged to have transferred suspicious funds to a convicted former American congressman, Williams Jefferson.In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose said President Buhari is far from being a clean man.

“Even the President cannot claim to be an angel. The estate he built in Abuja is known to us. His wife was indicted over the Halliburton Scandal (sic). When that American, Jefferson, was being sentenced, the President’s wife was mentioned as having wired $170,000 to Jefferson. Her name was on page 25 of the sentencing of Jefferson. We can serialize the judgement for people to see and read.”

The governor’s Special Assistant on New Media, Lere Olayinka, later circulated links to and copies of the court document detailing Mrs Buhari’s mention in the scandal. The documents showed that in some of the exhibits tendered in convicting Mr. Jefferson of bribery, Mrs. Buhari was mentioned as transferring $170,000 to the American politician using a firm as proxy.

“Government Exhibits 36-87 (6/26/02 $170,000 wire transfer from account in Nigeria in the name of Aisha Buhari to an account in the name of The ANJ Group, LLC, identifying “William Jefferson” as Beneficiary),” the US Government Sentencing Memorandum said on page 22.

Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, declined comments, saying he would need to check the documents himself before issuing an official statement. Fayose’s comment sparked a recollection of how Mr Jefferson, between 2000 and 2005, used his position as member of the U.S. House of Representatives to offer illegal services to private companies for cash rewards. Premium Times reports that Jefferson and his family, according to US authorities, received about $367,500 through through his firm, ANJ Group, for services rendered to iGate, an American broadband technology provider. An indigenous firm, Netlink Digital Television, had signed a joint venture with iGate to set up digital satellite TV and broadband Internet services in the country. NDTV was owned by Oyewole Fasawe, a PDP chieftain at the time. Mr. Jefferson was contracted to help promote iGate and NDTV partnership in Nigeria. Following a lengthy trial, Mr. Jefferson was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Although Mr. Fasawe was arrested in 2005 by the EFCC, he was never convicted. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar were also said to be a person of interest in the allegations. A final report released by the EFCC on June 22, 2006 about the bribery scandal also contained Mrs. Buhari’s Citizens Bank account statements and how she transferred funds to Mr. Jefferson. A 2007 New York Times’ article detailed how Mrs. Buhari told an acquaintance in Washington that she was a daughter of a former Nigerian head of state and a friend of Mr. Jefferson. “As the pair struck up a conversation and subsequently became friends, Mr. Assiba, then a security guard, said she told him that her father was the former military ruler of Nigeria, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and that her American friends included politicians like Mr. Jefferson of Louisiana.”

Dr. Haroun Isah speaks on the major causes of pipeline Vandalism

 

Dr. Haroun Omeiza Isah MBBS, MPH, FWACP (Comm. Med), Cert. Stat. Epidemiol, Cert. APM

Director, Technical Coordination 

Friends for Global Health Initiative in Nigeria, FGHiN

Thank you sir for your time on such short notice, Just a few questions for you to enlighten the mass on the situation of things in the economy. and a form of encouragement to the youth on measures that can be applied in survival presently in Nigeria. 

Sir, please give us a brief of your bio-data and Career 

I am Dr Haroun Omeiza Isah, Ebira by tribe and born 54 years ago in Okengwen, Okene LGA of Kogi State to Pa Isah Aribah and late Mommy Abisetu Onyiyoiza Isah. I come from a modest family. I had my primary education starting from St Paul CMS Primary School, Okengwen, through Central School, Agbogugu, in current Enugu State (then part of old East Central State) and finishing up in 1975 in Keffi, Nasarawa  State (then Benue Plateau State). I had my secondary school education in GSS Otukpo, Benue State, between 1975 and 1980, and obtained the MBBS degree from the University of Ilorin in 1987 and Master of Public Health, MPH, degree from the University of Lagos in 1997. I am a Fellow of the West African College of Physicians and member of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. I have had privilege of professional development through several trainings (within and outside Nigeria) and a certified Project Management Specialist as well as Statistical Epidemiologist. By my training and vocation, I am a Public Health Physician/Health System Development Specialist with working experience and skills (within public and private sectors) spanning management, administration, health system development and organizational representations.  

Currently, I live and work in Abuja. I am married and blessed with four beautiful children. The eldest, a female is a graduate and currently with Institute of Human Virology-Nigeria, Abuja. Two are currently in the university (one, a male, going to his final year in Computer Science and Information Technology in Bell University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, and the other, a female going to her third year in Mass Communication, in Bingham University here near Abuja ), and the youngest, a male, in primary school, with the mother in Jos, Plateau State. 

What are your present positions or recent appointments? 

I am waiting to assume office with Achieving Health Nigeria Initiative as Principal Investigator/Chief of Party of a US-funded health project come 1st July 2016. However, I am currently the Director, Technical Coordination, with Friends for Global Health Initiative in Nigeria, a US-funded organization in health intervention activity in Nigeria, where I am providing leadership for the technical implementation of its programs nation-wide.  

I hold an academic chair as a Senior Lecturer in Public Health with the College of Medicine, Bingham University. Over the years gone by and to date, I have worked with several organizations basically responsible for health activities in Nigeria under the auspices of the United State Government, European Union and Canadian Government, providing technical assistance to Government of Nigeria across the three levels of the country’s government. I am a member of various professional bodies within and outside Nigeria. 

In the past few months what can you say is your take on President Buhari's method of procedure to change for the Nation? 

Ever government has its modus operandi, and the Buhari Government is no exception. The administration came in on the platform of “Change Mantra” believing the country requires a radical departure from its hitherto way of doing things under the previous administrations that held sway for sixteen (16) years. Its approach to governance is based on the outcome of its assessment and review of what characterized the country’s situation. Basically, there have been allegations of corruption permeating every fabric of the country. The administration’s decision to tackle corruption, block all forms of leakages and streamline management of the country’s governance is based on its belief that this is the basis of the nation’s current state.  

There are many way to kill a rat, goes the adage. Whatever way the current government is taken must seem appropriate based on findings. The most important thing is that the nation arrives at the destination where sanity becomes the order of the day, and the nation is properly positioned for the greatness it deserves. 

What can you say is the major cause of Oil pipeline vandalism? 

Answer is best obtained from the perpetrators of pipeline vandalism. According to the group, mainly youths from Niger Delta, it is because their communities, which are “the geese that laid the golden egg of petroleum”, the wealth of the nation, have remained shortchanged. Their communities have not benefitted from the dividends of oil.  

I have never been there, but I have been privileged to see the state of these communities through various media. And to be frank, what I have seen call for concern. But the approach taken by these youths is, to say the least, unhelpful. The taking to pipeline destruction will neither cause their community development nor ensure the human development of their people. If anything, outcomes of such acts include dire environmental, economic, health and demographic implications. At the end, their communities and the people will be worse off.  

In your own take what do the so called Avengers truly want? 

They want their communities and their people taken care of. They want to benefit from what their communities are providing this nation i.e. the wealth from oil. They want development for their settings and for their people. 

Where do you see the Nation Nigeria in the next Five years? 

It depends on what you have in mind. Based on the current drive and focus by the current national government, I see a country that will have a diversified economic base, prudent management system and a return of sanity. That is if the current spates of insurgency are controlled while the developmental agenda of the country are being pursued.  

If the spates of insurgency continue, what we will have is a fractured nation, with distrust ravaging its fabric. Then, the nation will be eluded by the much sought development and prosperity. 

Form of encouragement to the youth and on measures that can be applied in survival in present in Nigeria 

The youths must come to the understanding that the government cannot engage everyone in meaningful employment. They must come to term that the time has come to bring their innovativeness and creativity to bear in their quest for sustainable livelihood. Exploring avenues for self-sufficiency is the goal they must pursue. And how this can be achieved is through re-appraising the unfolding scenario in the country and keying into it. The current educational system can no longer position many of them for such, thus there is the urgent need for re-training to fit into the current realities in Nigeria. Many jobs previously unaccepted must be explored to ensure they are self-engaged. Such include agro-based and technical schemes. Coming together and forming a kind of co-operative societies will enable them to secure needed support that will ensure their empowerment through a revolving arrangement for its members. There are quite a number of outfits and organizations with willingness to support genuine arrangement outside the government system. 

Make additions where you feel needs to be cleared-up in the Nation 

Effort in eradicating corruption needs to be strengthened and institutional structures put on ground to prevent further occurrences. There is the need for sustained attention for sustainable development of Nigeria. The principles of accountability, probity and transparency in governance are dearly needed, coupled with orderliness and discipline in all ramification of the nation’s life. People must come to appreciate the nation as an entity to develop and protect against those bent on destroying it. Peace is needed if the nation must develop, and this should be focal point of all. Appropriate channels for addressing grievances must be taken. 

The teaming youths of this nation need to be assured of a secured future. They must be helped towards sustainable and assured future by helping them to develop towards sustainable livelihood. Hard work and having them appropriately directed are very important. The manner of quest for materialism must be de-emphasized. Flaunting of wealth by the privileged few in the midst of poverty and must be stopped. 

Thanks once again for your time Sir.

By Silvia Williams

President Buhari takes selfie with daughter

The Love of a parent cannot be measured much less changed, see how the President of Nigeria takes a selfie with his daughter.