A national leader
of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has denied accusations by a
party member that he was using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to
hound Toyin Saraki, wife of the Senate president, Bukola Saraki.
In a statement by
his media office Saturday, Tinubu said he is too busy working to get the APC
back on track, not delving into EFCC matters.
“Tinubu does not
run or dictate to the EFCC,” said the statement signed by Sunday Dare, Tinubu’s
aide.
“And like
countless others, Tinubu has also (been) investigated by the EFCC severely in
the past. Tinubu has no hand in the travails of anyone because he is right now
very busy working with others of like mind on how the APC political agenda can
set sail as quickly as possible.
“That is the
urgency of now and not the tantrums of the likes of Waku.”
Joseph Waku, a
chieftain of the APC, had stated that Tinubu masterminded a “baseless petition”
that led to the invitation of Toyin Saraki by the EFCC.
According to Mr.
Waku, the former Lagos State governor is exploiting his personal relationship
with Ibrahim Lamorde, the EFCC chairman, to go after perceived opponents.
“After days of
painstaking enquiries, I discovered that both Tinubu and Lamorde maintain a
mutually beneficial relationship since the days of Lamorde as the EFCC Director
of Operations and based in Lagos between 2003 and 2007 when Tinubu was equally
the governor of Lagos,” Mr. Waku, who served as senator between 1999 and 2003,
said in a statement issued in Abuja.
“I also
discovered from my findings in EFCC that the so-called petition against Mrs.
Saraki was personally given to Lamorde by Tinubu under the guise that he was
submitting the petition on behalf of the APC leadership to punish Saraki for
working against the party’s leadership on the choice of National Assembly
leaders.
“This was
followed by a promise to help secure a second term for Lamorde as EFCC
chairman.”
In the tersely
worded response to Mr. Waku’s comments, Mr. Tinubu described the former Senator
as “an individual with no shred of reputation and a political pariah in his
home state”.
“No one should
pay former Senator Waku any attention. We know when he is broke and needs a
quick fix,” Tinubu said.
“What he has said
is fit for the trash. Waku is Godwin Daboh resurrected. No one should dignify
Waku’s tales by moonlight with any attention or ever take him serious. For any
serious individual with a reputation to protect, Waku is a very poor hire.”
-therecorderng