Monday, June 18, 2007

EFCC QUIZZES TINUBU

Lagos state governor bola tinubu was invited to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
After leaving the EFCC hqtrs, he told journalists that he was not being indicted, he was only being invited to clear some issues.
As sunnewsonline says:
Former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, says that the dreaded Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials, who quizzed him in Abuja on Monday never humiliated nor disrespected him, stressing that the whole encounter could best be described as an interaction.

Tinubu also urged those calling for the scrapping of the commission to have a rethink as it is an invaluable tool to fight corruption.

He, however, warned that the EFCC must not be used to victimize people perceived as opposition as that will make a nonsense of its work.

Tinubu stated in Lagos on Wednesday, while fielding questions from aviation correspondents before he jetted to Abuja, that he was never afraid of visiting the EFCC since he ran a transparent and well-audited government.
The former governor also stated that the EFCC did not accuse him of fraud, mismanagement of the state's funds or any other form of irregularity.

"Look, they attended to me very well. They're respected professionals. The EFCC that interrogated me respected themselves, but I told them not to forget the fact that we're in a political environment and that a whole lot of rumours might have been gathered and so are fictitious petitions from political rivals.

"My attitude is that if you find anything against me, go to court. I was serious about federalism that I asked the House of Assembly to perform its oversight functions. More so, the auditor general of the state has the records of the transactions of the state and their finances. I said I was not going to attend until there was a court order prompting me to do so. So my lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and the former attorney general of the state, Yemi Osibajo (SAN) advised me that we should take the approach at least in an interactive session", he explained.

On the olive branch extended to the Action Congress (AC) and the former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar by President Umar Musa Yar'Adua, Tinubu said whatever stand the party takes on that lies solely on the executives, adding: "I would not pre-empt the outcome of the meeting, but would make my position known on that at the right time."

As regards his advice to Atiku over the whole election war, he said: "My advice to Atiku won't be on the pages of paper. We'll talk personally. He has the right to challenge anything he finds wrong. That's the only way we can strengthen the polity."

On the accusation that he used one firm, Alpha-Beta Consulting to siphon the state's funds into private accounts, Tinubu said the allegation does not hold water as he grew the state’s internally generated revenue from paltry N600 million to as high as N7 billion monthly.

On life outside power and his future ambition, the former Lagos governor said: "I was ready to leave when I left. Right now, I'm enjoying extra sleep. But I'm going to be politically active and committed to crusade of true federalism and good social responsibility."

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