I Don't Know 'We' Stole Such Huge Billions of Dollars For Election, Culprits Should Be Jailed - PDP BoT Member, Wabara

A member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Board of Trustee member and former Senate President during Obasanjo's regime, Chief Adolphus Wabara said he was startled, and so was so many Nigerians when it was revealed that his party, the PDP spent so huge amount of United States Dollar in prosecuting the 2015 general election.

Wabara speaking with The Daily Sun Newspaper correspondent, IHEANA­CHO NWOSU, in an interview said he never had faintest idea that such money exchanged hands. he further said he believed many Nigerians are really startled that such amount of money in dollars in billions exchanged hands. I don’t think any Presidential elec­tion in any part of the world has spent the type of money that was spent in the last election in Nigeria on election. Everybody more or less participated in the booty. So, any­body found guilty should be prosecuted

"I never had the faintest idea that such money exchanged hands. I’m sure many Nigerians are really star­tled that such amount of money in dollars in billions exchanged hands. I don’t think any Presidential elec­tion in any part of the world has spent the type of money that was spent in the last election in Nigeria on election. Everybody more or less participated in the booty. So, any­body found guilty should be prosecuted," Wabara opined 

On if the revelation destabilizes the PDP, Wabara said;

"I really don’t think it has. Don’t forget that you are innocent until proven guilty and that has to be in the court of law. That explains why you find the likes of (Olisa) Metuh before last Saturday, doing his job and all of them that have been mentioned so far are going around doing their thing, until maybe the day of judgment. In a criminal matter, the onus of proof is on the prosecution and it must be proven beyond all reasonable doubt for you to jail someone on a criminal charge. The EFCC, because of the enormity of their commitments, you find that they are not handling most of the matters professionally. We might end up having people escaping from jail on technical grounds."

On this questions:

You said you have no problem with the way they are handling the anti-cor­ruption war so far. But some people have raised the is­sue of party funds; that the probe so far has not dis­tinguished between party money and funds from the public coffers. Some have said that If you are probing public money, it should not be mixed with money that belongs to the political par­ty, which the party used for election purposes. Don’t you see the EFCC is mixing these together?

"I don’t think they are bringing ev­erything together. We are all Nigeri­ans and we knew how much the PDP raised during the presidential cam­paign – about twenty something bil­lion Naira, not dollars. But what we are hearing is different. If you sub­tract twenty something billion Naira from that, you will find that the whole thing is startling. But Buhari cannot get all the money that is involved, even if he is able to jail all them. I’m being very practical."

As you said, no one is guilty until proven guilty. Now, the same court had approved bail applications of some of these suspects, but none of it appears to enjoy the support of the arresting au­thorities. Is this in itself not an abuse of the process?

"There are two sides to a coin. I don’t want to believe that the EFCC or the ICPC will keep suspects un­necessarily. There was a case that they mentioned and they gave rea­sons why they were still keeping the person. That’s why they moved out of Abuja; they now obtained hold­ing charge from Lagos. You cannot blame the judiciary for doing that. If they get court judgment to continue to hold someone, then you cannot fault that. It’s just that we are alarm­ists. We want things to happen now and I think people are also getting a little bit tired."

Obasanjo'll Ruin Your Government, Buhari Warned

In an experience that portrays the popularly saying, "Once Beaten twice Shy", a former Senate President forced out of office during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and member Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Adolphus Wabara has warned President Muhammadu Buhari to be wary of the ex-President (Obasanjo), else he will ruin his administration, News Punch understands

Wabara in a recent interview with the Daily Sun Newspaper believes that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has its good and bad sides . While he praised the ongoing war against cor­ruption , he argued that the adminis­tration has not done well in address­ing economic issues. 

The former President of the Senate was of the opinion that the President must be wary of some personalities that swarm around him. One of such people he said, is former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, claiming that the latter would hurt the President if he con­tinues to allow him ample space in his government.

Below is an excerpt from Daily Sun Newspaper related to Obasanjo and Buhari's relationship cum the former's interferences in PDP crisis.

Many also feel that Obasanjo’s hand is seem­ingly in the problem that you are having right now. Some of his men who are fighting are believed to have links with him?

The problem with Obasanjo is he pursues his personal interest all the time and he’s a tactician. We worked together. If you are standing here with Obasanjo, if you look a mile from where you are standing, you will find him there. That is the type of person he is and it takes people like us who really understand him to talk about him. I think we will leave that for another day. He has so many people planted here and there. He has his hands in so many things in his government. But you probably will be lucky to pin him down to them. People are suffering on his behalf, whereas he should have been the per­son facing the music.

Do you regret becoming one of his loyal core men at a point in your political ca­reer?

I wouldn’t want to answer that question now. But I must thank him though for making me what I am. Without him, I wouldn’t have been the Senate President – that’s between myself and my God. He made that possible and I remain eternally grate­ful to him. But it’s his interest first all the time. If I go into that, how I exited and what have you; in fact in your papers, somebody wrote that I was impeached. I was never impeached. I voluntarily resigned to go and face the music. Where I studied, we were usually very rugged and we know that diamonds are not forever. When things like that come, we take the right step.

Obasanjo wanted a third term and he thought he had a willing horse in me but I refused and that is where the whole thing started. Some of his aides now told him that I even wanted to take over his job as the President of the country and stuffs like that. But I don’t want to talk. I leave everything in the hands of God.

If you are to advise Buhari on how to handle somebody like Obasanjo, what would be your advice?

Buhari should be very careful. He should be very wary of Obasanjo be­cause Obasanjo will hurt him. All he is doing around Buhari now is to feel his body language to know whether he has any plans in exposing him. The moment he now finds that some­thing like that is not happening and Buhari becomes a lame President, Obasanjo will hurt him, preparatory for the next President that is coming in because he must be in the Villa to protect himself from going back to prison and what he does is to run down whoever is there at the appro­priate time to paint a picture that he is supporting the incoming so that that one will draw him closer again. By so doing, he is shielded from being thrown back into prison.

Excerpts From Daily Sun Newspaper