Former governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has waded into the raging controversy between the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, and ex-commissioner in the Police Service Commission, PSC, Hajia Naja’atu Muhammad, saying Ribadu lied that he never accused President Bola Tinubu of corruption during his time as EFCC chairman.
He also accused the NSA, Ribadu of memory loss
Recall that Hajia Muhammad had allegedly in a Tik Tok video, listed President Tinubu, Senators George Akume, Orji Uzor Kalu and some other former governors as those Ribadu described as very corrupt governors when he was chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
But Ribadu, through his lawyer, Dr. Ahmed Raji, SAN, demanded public apology and a retraction from Hajia Muhammad.
Raji had in a letter to Muhammad, said the damage that had been done to the NSA as a result of the Tik Tok video was unquantifiable.
The letter had read, among others: “Clearly, in the text of your recording [reproduced and translated above] you stated that when our client served as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes, EFCC, he allegedly named President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, alongside Sen. George Akume and Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu [all former governors, and in that order] as the governors in Nigeria who stole the most from public treasury.
“You also stated that today, our client who once held the above odious view about President Tinubu has turned around to be his staunchest defender; especially, with regard to what you stated to be the government’s agenda to silence voices of dissent to the government, citing the alleged arrest of a certain
Prof. Usman Yusuf as an example.
“You also stated that our client’s alleged attitudinal change towards President Tinubu means that he has either become a liar or that he lied when he allegedly described President Tinubu, Sen. Akume, Sen. Kalu and other governors as thieves.
‘’Privately or publicly, our client has never expressed the above viewpoint about President Tinubu and/or Senators George Akume and Orji Uzor Kalu, which you attributed to him.
‘’In fact, our client has never held such a viewpoint about the President,hence it came as a complete surprise to him when his attention was drawn to the aforesaid publication by you against him.
‘’In the foregoing premise, our client hereby challenges you to provide evidence of your allegations therein against him, which have cast him as double-faced, duplicitious and deceitful in the eyes of right-thinking members of the society.’’
However, stepping into the matter yesterday, former Governor El-Rufai, who was
FCT minister in 2006 when the statement accusing Tinubu of corruption was made, said records of proceedings in the Senate and even the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting would prove that Ribadu was lying.
While noting that Ribadu was being economical with the truth, el-Rufai said “Nuhu must have serious amnesia,’’ meaning loss of memories, including facts, information and experiences.
A report in the Daily Trust newspaper yesterday quoted el-Rufai as saying: “The record of proceedings in the Senate will confirm that Nuhu made those statements, sometime in 2006.
‘’The subsequent Daily Trust report of February 2007, reconfirms the essence of the statements.
“The conclusions of the Federal Executive Council in 2006, which can be subpoenaed from the cabinet secretariat of the SGF’s office contain the allegations.
‘’In that special FEC meeting in which I was a member, Nuhu’s EFCC made similar presentations accusing many sitting officials, sometime in 2006. These council conclusions will further remove all doubts.
“This is for the record and to remind the morally-flexible that at some point in our national life, silence is no longer golden.”
Efforts to get the NSA’s reaction last night proved abortive as neither him nor his spokesman could be reached on phone.
