Chief Olu Falae, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has confessed that the N100 million he collected from Tony Anenih, the former Chairman Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was paid to him through the account of his political party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the wake of the 2015 president election.
Mr. Falae, who spoke exclusively with a SaharaReporters correspondent on Saturday evening, in the Ondo State capital of Akure, explained that "he had nothing to hide" from the members of the public concerning the N100 million naira, because the money was meant to campaign for the PDP in agreed upon terms and conditions.
He restated to our correspondent that the money he collected from the former PDP leader was also a "justification" to support the erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan, who was the PDP presidential candidate in the 2015 general election, since his Party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) had no presidential candidate.
The former SGF and Afenifere leader, said during a telephone conversation with SaharaReporters that all the documentation used to receive the N100 million was collected by him and members of his Party, and vowed to make them public this week.
"Yes, I collected the money and everything is clear. The Party and I have nothing to hide. All the remittance was made through the account of the Party, and there is no argument about it.
"We have everything documented, and we shall publish it to the full glaring of the members of the public. I have repeatedly said that the money they [PDP] gave us was a justification to campaign for their candidate.
"Even as am speaking with you, our Party is meeting and we will issue an official statement on or before Monday over the whole process while explaining our own part and role", he said.
Falae, who noted that the Party would also issue an "advertorial where everyone would read the letter I wrote to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) giving them conditions for supporting their candidate and the reply they wrote back." He explained that he had spent his whole life serving Nigeria with no stain of money laundering on his personality.
"I have spent all my life as a public official serving with integrity. I was once the minister of finance and I didn't touch any money belonging to Nigeria, I was the Secretary to the Government of the federation and I controlled the security fund and I didn't stole then.”
The Afenifere leader and elder statesman also denied that some members of his SDP purportedly wrote in the media that he only remitted the sum of N5 million naira against the N100 million he collected on behalf of the party.
"The people are only trying to cause disaffection in our party. All was forgery. None of our members said anything of such. I can assure you that you would see our reaction before next week", he quickly said.
However, he denied knowledge that the money given to him was part of his own share of the looted $2.1 billion fund by the former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki meant to procure firearms for the military to fight the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents ravaging the Northeast and threatening the border towns of Nigeria.
The Deputy Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the November 21, 2015 Governorship election in Kogi State, James Faleke, and Mohammed, the eldest son of Abubakar Audu, the late APC governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu, were on Saturday invited by the State Security Services for undisclosed reason, and then detained.
The Director, Media and Publicity of Audu/Faleke Campaign Organisation, Duro Meseko, said in a statement on Saturday that the duo arrived the SSS headquarters in Abuja at exactly 10.00am and were kept in an office with assurances that an officer would attend to them only to keep them indefinitely.
Mr. Meseko said the two politicians were kept in an isolated office till 4p.m on Saturday evening.
He said, “I’m surprised my Principal and the eldest son of our political leader, Mohammed are still being kept as I speak with you which is 4pm. What could be responsible for this ill treatment by the SSS?
“Or could they be acting the intimidation script? Trying to arms-twist them into abandoning the sacred mandate freely given to the Audu/Faleke team by the generality of Kogi people?
“Let me make it abundantly clear that our mandate is sacred and no amount of of technical detention, intimidation and harassment would shake our resolve to get justice through the judiciary.?
“I refuse to believe that the presidency has hands in the arrest! But we may not rule out the fact that the power that be must have wielded their influence in the arrest, but we are not perturbed over the development, because we believe that God ultimately vindicate us.”
The SSS has had no official spokesperson since Marilyn Ogar was removed, and could therefore not be reached for comments.
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, is set to honour all athletes that won different medals for the nation in various international sporting tournaments in 2015.
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, confirmed that the President would host the athletes at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, January 21.
Among those yet to be rewarded are the Golden Eaglets of 1985, who were promised houses for winning the maiden edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in China and the current FIFA U-17 world champions.
Others are the victorious national men’s Basketball team who won the 2015 FIBA Africa Basketball Championship in Tunisia, Team Nigeria at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa, and World Scrabble Champion, Wellington Jighere.
In November last year, President Buhari assured the 1985 batch of Golden Eaglets that his administration would fulfill the promises made 30 years ago.
The promises were made during a reception held at Dodan Barracks with the players, in celebration of their outstanding victory.
In a statement on November 10 by a spokesman for the President, Mr Garba Shehu, Buhari said it had been brought to his attention that a directive which he gave to the state governments at the time had not been complied with.
“It is a pity that those promises were never fulfilled,” he said.
Fellow Nigerians, I don’t know how many of you feel the way I feel but some things are not very clear to me. There is so much commotion in the land. It seems like we are still busy campaigning after election. The two major political parties in Nigeria are permanently at daggers’ drawn. I thought elections were won and lost since March 2015. It would be one year soon in two months’ time. By now the politicians on both sides should have gotten over whatever malice existed then and learn to accept whatever fate befell them, good or bad.
Let’s try to examine the causes and sources of friction and irritation. President Muhammadu Buhari’s credentials and antecedents as an anti-corruption crusader were always well-known and substantially advertised. His records as a maximum ruler from 1983-85 remain indelible. Most of his cult-followers have only one principal reason for turning him into some god they worship because they believe he has the capacity, resolve and courage to exterminate all the artful dodgers who stole their country blind and made life so miserable for them.
It is my belief therefore, that President Buhari is determined not to let down his devotees. Anything less than chasing the corrupt leaders to the pits of hell would not be acceptable to those people. As a matter of fact, the not so tactful but honest statement by President Buhari that he does not think some of those arrested for economic crimes deserve bail actually resonates with many of those who want corrupt officials summarily dealt it, no matter how incompatible with the tenets of democracy this may be. Sooner than later, we may find ourselves at the crossroads of impunity and freedom.
I do not envy President Buhari at all. In him we find a largely incorruptible leader who requires the lethal powers of a full-blown dictator to operate anyhow he wants but is being bogged down by the demands of equity and justice in a democratic environment. It is indeed a big dilemma and I can’t wait to see how the Buhari government wriggles out of it. Our President is being accused of bad faith for breaching the supposed gentleman’s agreement reached with the immediate past government not to probe its officers, especially the big man himself, President Goodluck Jonathan, and some of his fat cats. Those supporting President Buhari are insisting that promises are meant to be made but not necessarily kept or unbroken. They argue that President Buhari knew things were very bad but didn’t know how horrible and terrible. And that now that he has come face to face with the grim reality he cannot afford to let those guys off the hook. It is such a serious matter that no covenant can stand in way of crime and punishment.
But members of the opposition who were in power for 16 years are kicking and raising a lot of dust. The vocal ones among them such as Governor Ayodele Fayose and Mr Olisa Metuh have not hidden their disdain for President Buhari. In the view of those two, the President is a tyrant who wishes to visit the personal iniquities of the parents on their children up to fourth generation if necessary. They see President Buhari as a vengeful and ruthlessly vindictive man who’s out to take his pound of flesh on those who have injured or offended him in any way in the past.
The ding dong arguments go on unabated. Those on Buhari’s side are asking if the allegations against those arrested are true or false! They wonder if it is reasonable and not treasonable that defendants can say their enemies made them to commit fundamental sins. The debate seems very simple on the surface but much of it is still very complicated.
In the meantime, the polity is clearly heated up at the moment. The economy is bleeding dangerously. The crime rate is atrociously high. Unemployment is still incredibly rife. Poverty has not been dented and the populace is miserable. In short, the people are constantly on edge.
Many Nigerians expect a miracle from Buhari. They are not ready or willing to accept our endless excuses especially the one about saying the time is too short to judge this government of necessity. Truth is we made promises to the people who thought there was a magic wand in Buhari’s pocket and he would use his talismanic powers to dismiss all our problems in a jiffy. But governance is never that simple. The scenario confronting Buhari is much worse, without trying to make excuses for him. Nigeria is very broke and Nigeria should never find itself in this type of peculiar mess after all the monies made in the past years which were recklessly frittered away. Any leader confronted by such an ugly monster would naturally be uncontrollably angry. And the President betrayed that frustration and anger at his last media chat.
My suggestion is that the anti-corruption war should continue unabated but with more focus on recovering looted funds before retribution and restitution. I do not know how the Judiciary can be of help in the fight but it should be possible to fast-track some of the cases but that may not be too easy knowing the preponderance of pending cases. But I will join those who would say the rights of every citizen must be respected. If I were President Buhari, I will not go against court orders no matter how frivolous those pronouncements can be sometimes. I will empower the Police and the secret services to operate better surveillance rather than lock up anyone indefinitely. I may not willy nilly allow those under trial to travel abroad but I will allow some measure of movements within our country. If the appropriate safeguards and undertakings are provided and given though, there is no reason why people with established medical ailments should not be permitted to travel abroad. With the co-operation of other nations and international criminal agencies, no country is a safe haven for the corrupt politician or ex government official. Indeed they may meet a greater Nemesis in the foreign climes that they desire to seek medical succour from. I believe the President may have been too hasty in concluding that those given bail to go abroad would necessarily abscond. I like to have a little more faith in our fellow citizens. After all there is nowhere that they can enjoy the trappings, privileges and expansive lifestyle that they relish than Nigeria!
I’ve had this dispute with some top government functionaries in different governments in the past and my usual way of putting it is that we must never set fire to an entire village in order to catch some rats. We must do things methodically, lawfully and reasonably. We must seek and hope to protect the rule of law no matter how anxious we are to get justice and convict rogues. No civilian leader has the power let alone moral right to be the accuser, prosecutor and the Judge simultaneously. No matter the shortcomings of democracy, that’s the system we chose to practise. The President must always remember that it is on the platform of democracy that he came to power. He cannot, having attained the heights that he sought, dump democratic principles and ideals on the altar of expediency. That would be an unmitigated disaster. Democracy must be adequately protected lest we taint the modicum of credibility we’ve gained since this great man returned to power. If care is not taken, the international community may begin to grumble and ultimately give up on supporting a government they hope would restore hope not just to Nigeria, but the continent of Africa as a whole.
I expect the hawks to say who cares but we must care about our global image and how the world perceives us in the comity of nations. We cannot snub the civilised world while still thinking of doing serious business, seeking aid and securing loans that may ultimately take us out of the doldrums. We can fight our battles within the confines of our laws without damaging the innocent alongside the guilty. As the saying goes it is better that 10 felons go free than that one innocent man be hanged. Nothing can compensate the injustice of deliberately incriminating an innocent man who has being criminalised, tried, convicted and sentenced on the pages of newspapers, on radio, television and social media. It is a very heavy price to pay for the prejudice of intolerant politicians and people.
May God grant our President more wisdom on how to solve the many intractable problems confronting our dear nation.
OF DAVIDO, SOPHIA AND IMADE
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you;
he will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid;
do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31: 8
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
Isaiah 1: 17
“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do
and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.”
Exodus 22: 22-23
These were the Biblical words that flooded to me as the devil tried its best to destroy a relationship of nearly 25 years. There is nothing more devastating than when communication breaks down between very intimate friends, especially male and female. The once chummy relationship becomes dangerously affected and they rapidly metamorphose into sworn enemies. This is why some marriages collapse within months of consecration.
The matter is usually much worse when children are born out of wedlock and there is no legal union between parents. No matter how lovey-dovey they were, once upon a time, the enmity grows at the speed of light. Families often become the biggest casualties as emotions freely run riot. The devil is an expert in the use of hearsay. Hearsay upon hearsay builds mutual distrust and mistrust. Sorry if I’m speaking in tongues and in parables. This is the best way I can describe the conflagration that engulfed the Momodus and the Adelekes which exploded globally on December 29, 2015, and raged all the way to January 7, 2016, when reason finally prevailed on both sides.
With baby Imade Adeleke
It was not an easy battle. It was a sad war. But I believe it was ordained to teach us fresh lessons about life and make us appreciate ourselves more and show the world that friends would always be friends no matter how daunting the challenges we confront. We thank God for good people. We are very blessed with those who intervened positively and ensured that we eventually sat down to talk. It reminded me of that popular advert by British Telecom: It is good to talk. But there are times when talking become impossible because the tongue and the mouth are quarreling.
Outsiders would never understand what went terribly wrong and how God miraculously brought everyone back from the precipice of the abyss. Let the saints say they’ve never been angry. Even Jesus Christ cursed a tree in anger. The tongue is powerful. Nations have gone to war in anger and still returned to the negotiation table. That is the beauty of being able to bury your differences after a self-immolating fight.
Many thanks to our father-figure, Professor Dayo Alao, for ultimately leading the peace initiative. We thank The Timi of Ede Oba Muniru Adesola Lawal Laminisa 1, Oba Adedokun Abolarin Aroyinkeye 1 The Orangun of Oke-Ila, Mr Wale Adeeyo, Mr Ademola Adeleke, Mrs Iyabo Ajibola-Momodu, Sophie Momodu, Mrs Mobolaji Momodu, Mr Dele Adeleke, Prince Adedamola Aderemi, Mr Gbolaga Ajayi, Dr Doyinsola Hamidat Abiola, Mr Femi Otedola, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Mr David Adeleke (aka Davido), The Emirate Airlines and all the government agencies that helped in the resolution process. Specially the Immigration services at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) Lagos Zone deserve our commendation and gratitude.
My star in the whole saga is Dr Adedeji Adeleke for maintaining a cool mien and being reasonable despite great heat and discomfort. But the heroine and only winner is baby Imade Aurora Adeleke. To God be the full glory.
