Former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, has kicked against the inclusion of his name in the list of alleged ‘looters’ of public funds released by the Federal Government on Sunday.
Aliyu distanced himself from the list and opened up that campaign funds for the 2015 elections was shared by a former governor and a former female minister.
He said they were in charge of the money which was shared for the elections.
The former governor insisted the list released by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, two days ago, was skewed and incomplete, and wondered why the names of members of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) were omitted.
In the list released by the minister, Aliyu allegedly got N1.6 billion from the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
In his reaction, yesterday, through his media adviser, Israel Ebije, Aliyu said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had invited beneficiaries of the loot and they have agreed to return the money and that there was no way he could have taken the money because at the time it was shared, he was excluded on the grounds that he was the leader of the G-7.
The G-7 comprise governors who broke away from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2013.
“I have never been mentioned in any ONSA disbursement since 2015. I have no case with the federal government over the alleged disbursement or any other. I have every reason to believe the looters list, in which my name was included, was drafted to tarnish me before right thinking Nigerians.
“I believe somebody somewhere is leveraging on the unfortunate case I have with the Niger State government to present a bogus dragnet of alleged looters. Let me, therefore, urge the federal government to de-list me immediately from the list of alleged looters.
“I demand that my name be cleared on this matter. I may consider other options as a citizen whose right, as guaranteed by the Constitution, has been breached…”
In a similar vein, former minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, also said the list of looters released by the government is not complete without the inclusion of President Muhammadu Buhari, his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi as well as Lai Mohammed.
In a statement he issued, yesterday afternoon, Fani-Kayode described the “looters list” as “nonsensical and utterly shameful” and added that said he is innocent of any wrongdoing, as he did not receive any money from government coffers.
“The Federal Government claims that I ‘looted’ N800,000,000 from government coffers. This is false.
“I did not receive and neither was I ever given one kobo by any government official, government agency or govermment parastatal during (former) President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure. The money that I received was given to me by the director of Finance of the Jonathan Campaign Organisation, (Senator) Esther Nenadi Usman, before the election in 2015 and it was specifically for the conduct of the presidential election.
“I was director of Media and Publicity of the campaign organisation and it was used specifically and solely for the running and conducting of the media and publicity aspect of the election…The money she made available to me came from a private company account which was used to house contributions made to the Jonathan campaign by party supporters after a series of fundraising event.
“It is common knowledge that the Buhari campaign in 2015 was funded by moneys that can be traced directly to the state governments of Rivers state, Lagos state, Kano state, Ogun state and a number of other key APC states yet, not one of those involved or that governed any of those states at the time have been questioned, arrested or prosecuted by the EFCC or the federal government.
“It is also comon knowledge that president Buhari himself was offered and received several benefits and received money from the office of the former national security advisor, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), yet, nothing has been done about this. “
Fani-Kayode alleged the anti-corruption war of the present administration is “selective and politically motivated.”
-Sun
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