EFCC: Former governor of Delta State, Ibori, played in the appointment of Farida Waziri

…I never knew him – Ex-chairman

From FRED ITUA, Abuja

Six years after leaving office, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has opened up on the alleged role of convicted former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, played in the appointment of Farida Waziri, the erstwhile chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He said Waziri’s appointment was a wrong step and blamed it as largely responsible for the alleged setback in the fight against corruption.
Speaking to Zero Tolerance magazine, published by the EFCC, Obasanjo said: “I know that the woman they brought in to replace Ribadu (Farida Waziri) was not the allegedly 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 UK prison for fraud, head-hunt somebody who will fight corruption in Nigeria, then you can understand what happened,” he said. Obasanjo noted that Waziri may not be adequately qualified to spearhead the herculean task of managing the EFCC. “Well, go and look at her track record. Go and look at the condition or the qualification; go and look at the type of interaction that anybody holding that job will have with a similar organisation elsewhere; did Waziri have that type,” he asked.
But responding in a similar interview granted to the magazine, Waziri denied any form of relationship with Ibori.
She said: “I never knew him (James Ibori). When I was appointed, I went to the Villa very often because the president called his staff and told them Farida has free access to him 24/7, whether in the office or Villa.
“So, I went there often and I met Ibori. He was always there. I think what happened was that my younger brother, Aondoaka, the former Attorney-General, was close to Ibori.
“If I was in league with Ibori and was not sincerely pursuing him, would he have run, gone out of this country to Dubai? “This former AG is from my area, my local government, but I never knew him well. Well, he might have known me because young people know me as elderly,” she said.