FREEZING OF FAYOSE’S ACCOUNT, HALLIBURTON SCANDAL AND THE EMERGING STORIES OF TWO AISHA BUHARI

 The governor of Ekiti State His Excellency, Ayodele Fayose is a potpourri of personality who means different things to different people. His disdain for APC and opposition to President Buhari's candidature was already in the public domain. After the 2015 general elections, he took it upon himself and assumed the unofficial, intrepid, loquacious mouth piece of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The ruling APC in turn scornfully see him as a deviant character best described as a gadfly and the stubborn fly which follows corpse to the grave. He has ready-made derisive reactions or aspersions to every policies of the ruling APC. Fayose is an old political war horse with handy weapons at his disposal to haul at opponents. His disposition to the governance of the current administration has become a major source of concern to APC stalwarts. Whichever way the pendulum of public opinion swings on the persona of Ayodele Fayose, he is an enigma and an unforgettable major player who has left a mark in the sand of our democratic experience. No one takes the shine off his beliefs and opinions. You ignore Ayodele Fayose the dogged fighter to your peril. 

The latest umbrage between Fayose and the APC came with the freezing of his Zenith Bank personal account by the EFCC. In a broadcast to the people of Ekiti, the governor who is not new to controversies added another dimension to the saga. In a statement issued by his aides, the governor lampooned President Muhammadu Buhari as being corrupt. “Even the president cannot claim to be an angel. The estate he built in Abuja is known to us. His wife was indicted over the Halliburton Scandal.”  He revealed an alleged sleaze involving the wife of the President Aisha Muhammadu Buhari and former US Congressman William Jefferson who was convicted in the infamous Halliburton scandal. The link containing the Halliburton judgment where Jefferson was convicted and the name of Aisha Buhari mentioned for wiring $170,000.00 to aid bribery is already in circulation on social media.

The presidency was irked, jolted and could not take the effrontery any more. An attempt to clear the first lady’s name was short-lived when another Aisha who some media houses reported was the alleged culprit denied knowing the colour of Halliburton or involved that line of business. This Aisha is bitter and is already talking to her lawyers on this attempt to rubbish her personality. The spirit of Halliburton scandal has refused to have eternal rest. Those implicated in US have been convicted since 2009 while it has become a judicial hard nut to crack in Nigeria. The timber and caliber of politicians involved in the over $180,000,000.00 scam have left no stone unturned to ensure the case dies a natural death.
This issue is weighty, should not be trivialised or reduced to ordinary name calling. The first lady took to her twitter handle and called Fayose unprintable names such as a mad dog. The first lady said, “Enough is enough, Fayose is an unchained mad dog. If Buhari is 73 years old, I Aisha am 45 years old, I have more than enough energy to face you.” In a warning letter from Mary Ekpere & Co, Aisha Buhari said Fayose’s action was directly responsible for the publication of the “very wild and unfounded” allegations against her in the media. “Our client has referred to us statement made by you and published on the 20th of June, 2016 (and other subsequent days) concerning and pertaining to her person for necessary action. “The said statement which was caused by you and your agents to be widely circulated and published in various media platforms: print, electronic and online on 20th of June, 2016, contains very wild, unfounded and false allegations and imputations against the person of our client. “Specifically, in the said statement credited to you and signed by your Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, you, inter alia, falsely stated as follows: “Even the president cannot claim to be an angel. The estate he built in Abuja is known to us. His wife was indicted over the Halliburton Scandal. When that American, Jefferson, was being sentenced, the President’s wife was mentioned as having wired $170,000 to Jefferson. Her name was on page 25 of the sentencing of Jefferson. We can serialise the judgement for people to see and read. “Take notice that unless you and your agents meet our humble demands within 5 (five) working days of the receipt of this letter, we shall take all necessary steps within the contemplation of the law to seek redress for our client.” The letter by the first lady to Fayose on this issue was one of the most reasonable official steps taking so far to unravel the real Aisha behind this scandal. The matter is a good case for judicial fireworks. Not because it involved the first lady and the  governor but for the fact that from both individuals the hidden truth of the Halliburton scandal will emerge and those behind it identified for prosecution.

Whatever actions and measures the government in place takes to quarantine corruption in the country is a welcome development. However, the anti-corruption crusade of this administration is blatantly selective. I am entitled to my opinion. The onslaught is majorly focused on the officials of the immediate past administration or perceived enemies of APC. In fact, every politician who decamped from other political parties to the APC is automatically a political saint. But we are all aware that some current public office holders and stalwarts of APC who were indicted by commissions of inquiry are walking freely and even dinning and winning with the president. The fight against corruption must begin earnestly somewhere but it must be all inclusive, fair to all because we are Nigerians despite our party affiliations.

No matter who you are, it is certain that when one bends down to look at someone else’s buttocks another person is definitely looking at his. In the same vein when a child embarks on an inquisition of who owes his father; he will in the course of his investigation find out the person who his father owes. This situation is exactly playing out and it applies to everyone including the President, EFCC and Fayose.  The justice system has been demeaned by over-zealous security and judicial officers working to please those in positions of authority who have some axe to grind with some “political enemies.” We are at the level of our political experience where campaign funds of other parties were “government money” stolen or fraudulently raised to enrich individuals except that of APC. While I am not holding forth for anyone who must have diverted public funds for personal use, the over N40 billion reportedly spent by a former governor from the South- South on the campaign of APC calls for urgent interrogation as well. In fact, Fayose’ sin is an aftermath of his temerity and affront to the government of the day. Needless to say that, the maturity of our democratic experiences is tested by virile and vociferous opposition figures and institutions like Fayose. The ruling APC is a beneficiary of uninhibited opposition politics. Therefore, any spirited attempt to gag the opposition and opposition figures now is a disservice to our democracy and nation.

Sunday Onyemaechi Eze, a Media and Communications Specialist is the publisher of thenewinsightng.blogspot.com. He wrote via sunnyeze02@yahoo.com and can be reached on 08060901201