Respect yourself or I’ll open book for you …Farida Waziri to Obasanjo
Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, has described claim by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that she was recommended for the EFCC job by convicted former Delta State Governor, James Ibori as “blatant falsehood”.
Farida in a statement obtained by NigerianEcho expressed surprise and anger at how Obasanjo an elder statesman would “descend so low to peddle falsehood,” Waziri warned Obasanjo to respect his age or else she would “open up on him.” She said “I will like to warn that those who live in glass houses don’t throw stones and as such Obasanjo should not allow me open up on him. Respectable elder statesmen act and speak with decorum”, she said in a statement personally signed by her.
Obasanjo had in an interview he granted Zero Tolerance, a magazine published by the EFCC, also said that the war against corruption in the country slowed down during Waziri’s tenure because she was not qualified for the job.
The EFCC former chairman reeled out her educational qualification and her relationship with international security agencies while serving in the Nigeria Police Force for 35 years.
“To further expose the height of mischief in the allegations, the past and present chairmen of the EFCC have both worked under me; yet someone can open his mouth to say I am not qualified to head the same agency. This is in addition to my educational qualifications such as a first degree in Law, a Master’s degree in Law and another Master’s degree in Strategic Studies. I doubt if Obasanjo himself can boast this level of educational qualifications.
She said, “…for the record, I served in the NPF for 35 years and got to the pinnacle of my career before my appointment as the EFCC chairman. If Obasanjo’s real age has not blurred his memory, I will like to remind him that I was a Commissioner of Police, Admin Force CID, CP, General Investigations, CP, Anti-fraud, CP , X squad, CP, and Police Special Fraud Unit where I secured the first conviction in a case of Advance Fee Fraud in Nigerian history.
“These are all prime investigative organs of the Nigeria Police where I related with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI across the world. I must place on record that at the SFU, I did not only relate with the FBI, Interpol and the Metpolice, among others , we carried out joint operations at different times on a number of cases. I have also led the Nigerian delegation to the Interpol headquarters in France.
She further said in her statement “The truth is that I never met Ibori in my life until after months in office as chairman of the EFCC when I used to see him in the Presidential Villa.
