The Big Boomerang

The plot by influential people to sack Farida Waziri and replace her with Tunde Ogunsakin hits a brickwall

BY  DANLAMI NMODU

It may indeed sound unbelievable but the reality is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC has been one house under a very heavy storm .Long after Farida Waziri took over the mantle of leadership  , no one within could in deed tell where the pendulum of power could truly swing .According to insiders, the battle for  control of the commission had left the anti graft body in  an unrelenting state of flux. 

From all accounts,  a coalition forces outside the commisson  which seeks a vice grip on the chairman has  been the main trigger of the storm within. Insider weekly learnt that these forces outside the commission want to control Waziri but she has consistently refused to cave in  and that set the state for the long battle. Once it became clear they could not control Waziri, the influential men began plotting her exit in the hope that Tunde Ogunsakin  who was director of operations replace her as the boss of EFCC. Insiders said it was this campaign to seize control of EFCC that created unease within for a long time until  the plot backfired recently resulting in the redeployment of Ogunsakin.

Actually  real hints  about the storm in the house emerged on the heels of  the redeployment of   Ogunsakin to the police  as directed by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.Though the redeployment occurred in the aftermath of an incident outside the commission, it came in the middle of  long standing tension within EFCC.The magazine reliably learnt that the exit of Ogunsakin was the unexpected twist in what a source called   an orchestrated campaign to remove Farida Waziri and have Ogunsakin replace .

But sadly, according to an insider, the plot boomeranged .The man who is suspected of being used to hunt down Waziri ended up being the one to exit the commission in controversial circumstances .He had to leave the agency after his alleged involvement in   examination malpractices were exposed. The magazine learnt this last cheating saga  was the second time Ogunsakin would  be having  such problems to contend with at the University of Abuja  .``You see, anything anyone is doing, he should have the fear of God. This is what I will call the ultimate boomerang .His godfathers were using him to fight madam because they had assured him that they would facilitate his emergence as the boss .But see how things turned out’’ a source revealed in Abuja..

In deed   exit from the commission was the last thing Ogunsakin was contemplating .According to sources, there had been an elaborate plot by his supporters known as godfathers outside the commission to have erstwhile director of operations  succeed Waziri .Such godfathers are alleged to be the major source of unrelenting and unproductive tension or even storm within the EFCC .``Their plot included cooking up stories that are not true about the chairman and making her look completely incapable of carrying out her duties`` the magazine was told.

Truth is that the ‘godfathers’ who apparently plotted the exit of Nuhu Ribadu did not want to leave the issue of his successor to chance .According to insiders Waziri was not really the choice of these influential men comprising a prominent minister, some police chiefs and ex- governors .The choice of Waziri  according one EFCC source  was a decision single- handedly made by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

The magazine was told that Waziri’s name   was originally submitted so that she could come in as an ordinary  member of the EFCC  board .It was in the process of personally  going through the  CVs of all those listed that Yar’Adua  fished out Waziri’s credentials which the president viewed as very outstanding  because of her track record. He chose to make her EFCC chairperson. In fact  ,Yar’Adua did not end it there; he invited Waziri to a meeting and  told her that she would be given a free hand to operate under the law. He also told her to carry out her duties without listening to anyone who comes to her suggesting that the president was asking  for a  favour  .She was urged to ignore any such claims from any quarters.

According to insiders as soon as the men who wanted to control EFCC noticed that  Waziri- who they could not quite predict  her next line of action- had clinched  the EFCC job, they quickly got Ogunsakin  to be appointed as Director  of Operations ahead of  Waziri’s assumption of office .She had to go through confirmation by the Senate .A source alleged that the swift appointment of Ogunsakin  was  a tactical move by the godfathers to check and rein in Waziri. It is believed within the commission that Ogunsakin was brought in as a fall back plot by the men who want to have  an absolute hold on the Commission. And so Waziri resumed work having to contend with Ribadu forces on one hand and the pressure from the so-called godfathers including  ex -governors on the other hand.

One major move  Waziri  made that sent shock waves down the spines of those seeking to control the EFCC was the commission’s decision to arrest  Professor Babalola Borisade and others in the aviation sector probe. Ever since, the EFCC chairperson’s woes worsened as the moves to oust her intensified .Reports of her alleged misdeeds became regular  .``They were all  cooked up stories, mere concoctions sponsored from within and outside to ruin her. The goal was to blackmail her, portray  her incapable of leading the anti corruption war. In fact at some point she was asking whether there  was a different Farida Waziri somewhere that these people have been writing about  apart from herself .Those reports are not true,’’ Waziri’s associate told Insider Weekly.

In fact, the magazine learnt that contrary to widely held views, former governors under going trial for alleged corruption are very uncomfortable and unhappy with Waziri . For instance,  James Ibori of Delta state wanted his trial to be stalled in Kaduna .But Waziri is insisting the trial must go on. In truth, the general impression is that Michael Aondoakaa , the attorney general of the federation and minister  of justice is the  crony and major protector of most of the former governors. In fact fuelled this suspicion when he sought direct control of the trial of the former governors rather than allow the EFCC alone to  handle the cases. Some uncomfortable compromise was struck even before Waziri became EFCC boss .

The magazine learnt that Waziri’s insistence on going ahead with the trial of these former governors has put her on collision course with many of them .Aside from her insistence that Ibori’s trial must continue, reports of late suggest that investigations into alleged misdeeds of some of these former governors are continuing. In fact fresh charges are being contemplated against some of these former governors. And it has been revealed that most of these men are very unhappy with the EFCC boss.An insider told the magazine that her saving grace is that President Yar’Adua has given her the freedom to do what is right and proper according to the rule of law.

It must however be noted that how long she can withstand the forces against her remains to be seen. Some f the men who want her out now were the people who saw to the exit of Ribadu .It fact at some point two of the former governors made direct telephone calls to Ribadu threatening to deal with him and they did .Many had thought that Waziri was their agent .But now that facts are emerging that that she is resisting their pressure, it means more interesting days lie ahead for her and the commission .What is certain is that these people she is battling with are equally close to the president .Will Yar’Adua sacrifice her on the altar of political expediency? No one can tell yet.

Encouraging signs  are however emerging in the last couple of weeks from the EFCC that the comatose war against corruption is being revved up now. Already senior officials of the Universal Basic Education Board have been arrested . Those arrested included  Andrew Ekapnobi, Micheal Aule, Hadiza and Gidado Tahir. Alex Cozman, a contractor to the education board was also among those arrested. EFCC  also  turned to the directors of the education commission including  Simon Manle, Lawrence Orekoya, Abdulsamad Jahum and Kayode Oyedeji.Mukat Mufnang, another director in the board, reportedly escaped on the day of arrest. Bridget Soka, the director and head of due process also escaped to Canada before she could be nabbed.

The probe into the power sector scam has led to some arrests already.The  permanent secretary in the Ministry of Power , Aliyu Abdulahi, and the managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Sam Gakpe are all in the dock over a N6 billion electrification project.The most shocking part of it all is the involvement of hitherto well- respected lawmakers in the N6billion scam in the power sector .The arrest and prosecution of Senator Nicholas Ugbane rattled the senate. But more shocks hit the law-makers with the arrest and arraignment of Ndudi Elumelu, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee that probed the controversial Independent Power Projects which former President Obasanjo claimed to have executed .Though the report of Elumelu’s probe is yet to be officially looked into, he is also in trouble along with some other lawmakers giving the impression as well that Elumelu the hunter is also being hunted for alleged misdeeds .These latest arrests have further brought Waziri into the eye of the storm as she is reported to be resisting pressure being mounted on her to give the lawmakers a featherbed for soft landing.

Perhaps, she is simply trying to prove that if given a free hand she too can fight corruption to the finish, without over- dramatizing her moves .