Jubilation As Brave Obasanjo Shuts Up Buhari, With
Powerful Facts And Figures
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has come hard
on President Muhammadu Buhari, a few days to the general elections, for making
unsubstantiated allegations against him, on the reckless spending of $16
billion, on the power sector, during his administration, from 1999 – 2007.
Obasanjo who spoke through his Aide, Kehinde
Akinyemi, said that it is wrong for anyone to continue with the unsubstantiated
allegations against him, by the then leadership of the House of Representatives,
over the power project.
In the statement, the former President said: “It has
come to the attention of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, that a statement credited to
President Muhammadu Buhari, apparently without correct information, and based
on ignorance, suggested that $16 billion was wasted on power projects, by a
former President.
“We believe that the President was re-echoing the
unsubstantiated allegations against Chief Obasanjo, by his own predecessor.
“While it is doubtful that a President with proper
understanding of the issue would utter such, it should be pointed out that
records from the National Assembly, had exculpated President Obasanjo of any
wrong-doing concerning the power sector, and has proved the allegations as
false.
“For the records, Chief Obasanjo has addressed the
issues of the power sector, and the allegations against him on many occasions
and platforms, including in his widely publicised book, My Watch, in which he
exhaustively stated the facts and reproduced various reports by both the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which conducted a clinical
investigation into the allegations against Chief Obasanjo, and the ad-hoc
Committee on the review of the recommendations in the report of the Committee
on power, on the investigation into how the huge sums of money was spent on
power generation, transmission, and distribution, between June 1999 and May 2007,
without commensurate result.
“We recommend that the President and his
co-travellers, should read chapters 41, 42, 43, and 47 of ‘My Watch’, for Chief
Obasanjo’s insights and perspectives on the power sector, and indeed what
transpired when the allegation of $16 billion on power projects was previously
made.
“If he cannot read the three-volume book, he should
detail his Aides to do so, and summarise the chapters in a language that he
will easily understand.
“In the same statement credited to the President, it
was alleged that there was some bragging by Chief Obasanjo, over $16 billion
spent on power. To inform the uninformed, the so-called $16 billion power
expenditure was an allegation against Chief Obasanjo’s administration, and not
his claim.
“The President also queried where the power
generated is. The answer is simple: The power is in the seven National
Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), and eighteen gas turbines that Chief
Obasanjo’s successor, who originally made the allegation of $16 billion, did
not clear from the Ports, for over a year, and the civil works done on the
sites.
“Chief Obasanjo challenges, and in fact encourages,
anybody to set up another enquiry, if in doubt and unsatisfied with the EFCC
report, and that of the Hon. Aminu Tambuwal-led ad-hoc Committee.”
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