Obasanjo Says Farida Waziri In EFCC Was A Terrible Mistake
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the era of Madam Farida
Waziri, former Chairman of the EFCC, as the worst thing to happen to
the anti-corruption campaign in Nigeria.
The former president, whose administration established Nigeria’s two main anti-corruption agencies, EFCC and ICPC, said he is aware that former Delta State Governor and convicted money launderer, James Ibori, played a major role in Mrs. Waziri’s appointment.
That explains why no one could successfully prosecute Ibori in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that even the international community was so suspicious of Farida Waziri that an Amircan Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders, threatened to walk out of a meeting with Nigeria’s then Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Madueke, if Mrs. Waziri was part of the meeting.
Obasanjo also commended Mr. Ribadu, saying his performance as EFCC boss helped reduce corruption in Nigeria and improve her rating by Transparency International.
“When I was there, the EFCC and ICPC worked tirelessly and we moved this country from the corruption perception index being number 2 from the lowest to being number 45 from the lowest,” he said.
He condemned the manner Mr. Ribadu was removed from office saying he cautioned late President Umaru Yar’Adua against the removal.
“I know that the woman they brought in to replace Ribadu (Farida Waziri) was not the right person for that job, because I understood that one of those who head-hunted her was James Ibori.
“If James Ibori, who is now in a U.K. prison for fraud, head-hunt somebody who will fight corruption in Nigeria, then you can understand what happened.”Obasanjo said this in an exclusive interview he granted Zero Tolerance, a magazine produced by the EFCC.
The former president, whose administration established Nigeria’s two main anti-corruption agencies, EFCC and ICPC, said he is aware that former Delta State Governor and convicted money launderer, James Ibori, played a major role in Mrs. Waziri’s appointment.
That explains why no one could successfully prosecute Ibori in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that even the international community was so suspicious of Farida Waziri that an Amircan Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders, threatened to walk out of a meeting with Nigeria’s then Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Madueke, if Mrs. Waziri was part of the meeting.
Obasanjo also commended Mr. Ribadu, saying his performance as EFCC boss helped reduce corruption in Nigeria and improve her rating by Transparency International.
“When I was there, the EFCC and ICPC worked tirelessly and we moved this country from the corruption perception index being number 2 from the lowest to being number 45 from the lowest,” he said.
He condemned the manner Mr. Ribadu was removed from office saying he cautioned late President Umaru Yar’Adua against the removal.
