We Will Be Fair To The Opposition - APC Governors

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the governors elected on its platform have said that the opposition will not be stifled as it happened during the administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

The governor of Zamfara State said this while fielding questions from journalists on the outcome of the fifth regular joint meeting at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday.

Asked to comment on the position of the APC on the Supreme Court ruling that recognized Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction of the PDP, Yari said, “As governors, we welcome the idea of democracy. The APC is not planning in any way to put this country as a one-party system. We are not. We enjoy the opposition when we were in opposition.

“From opposition, we become the ruling party. So, the judgement given by the Supreme Court on the PDP will not shake the APC in any way. We are happy for them. If they can put their heart together, we will have a formidable party which we will work with and struggle with to win elections in 2019, if they can. But the way the PDP is thinking that the APC is the one working to suffer the opposition, we are not. We know what happened in the past.”

He added, “Throughout my life, I have remained as opposition, if not now. I have never been in the ruling party. I know what the PDP did to our party. But we are not planning to do anything to other parties not to talk of the PDP.  We are happy about their jubilation. They have every right to jubilate. But the crisis within the PDP is not from us.

“Many of them are looking at the APC as if we create the PDP problem. But we are not. And we can judge the 16 years of the PDP. Therefore, we are firm as progressives. And we are bringing change to the country. If the APC has got the opportunity the PDP got, when they got oil price at $115, $110 per barrel, it would have been something different. But today, we are still managing the country at the cost of $40 to a barrel.”

Yari attributed the APC defeat during the recent by-election in Osun State to internal squabble among the party members. He said a committee had been constituted to avoid future occurrence.

On the postponement of the APC convention and the governors’ earlier statement to meet the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, the governor of Zamfara State tacitly attributed the seeming delay to the illness of President Muhammadu Buhari and the busy schedule of the acting President.

By Muideen Olaniyi

Gov. Yari Explains What He Will Do To Magu Over Paris Loan Refund Allegation

Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State has threatened to report the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to the Federal Government for intimidating governors, “for no just cause.”

Yari made the disclosure against the backdrop of allegations by the EFCC that he allegedly used N500m from the Paris refund loan to offset his personal loan obtained from First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited.

The anti-graft agency also alleged parts of the Paris Club loan refund were diverted from the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF’s account on Yari’s instruction.

But, Yari, who is the Chairman of NGF berated the agency, for not “tidying its work” before going to court.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Yari said all the allegations are lies, adding that, “all EFCC wants is for Nigerians to know it has invited a governor or that one former governor is arrested.”

He said, “I am going to write to the federal government that enough is enough; that either the EFCC should do its work or we should ‘do showdown’ with them (EFCC) because nobody became governor to be intimidated, to be harassed, to be abused by a DCP.

“You can’t fight corruption that way and forever, they (EFCC) will not achieve anything.

“In the case of my humble self, I have no idea why the EFCC is actually interested in the issue of the London Paris Club refund. It has been on this since inception up till now. It has been repeating, contradicting so many things especially about personalities.

“So, if there is anything wrong there, it should approach the person whom it suspects did something wrong, and not to be making noise about it. I challenge the chairman of EFCC to open up and say if he has ever come to me and interviewed me about what happened.

“We didn’t commit any fraud. I am not a signatory to that account but I am the head. So, it is what governors agree that I, as chairman, append my signature on. So now, they are saying $86m fraud, N19bn fraud, $3m hotel; which one do we believe?.”

By Seun Opejobi 

Paris Loan Refund: Gov. Yari Stole N500m, $500,000 - EFCC

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered an interim forfeiture of the sums of N500m and $500,000 allegedly looted from the Paris Club refunds by Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari.

They were said to have been recovered from two firms, First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited, and Gosh Projects Limited.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alleged that the sums of money were fraudulently diverted from the NGF’s bank account on the instruction of Yari.

In an affidavit by the EFCC, it alleged that the N500m was diverted to offset Yari’s personal loan obtained from the First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited.

It also alleged that the second firm, Gosh Projects Limited, utilised was paid for the purchase of building materials for Yari’s 100-room hotel project in Lagos.

Gosh Projects was also said to have used part of the looted funds for the purchase of treasury bills and transfers to offshore accounts.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba made the interim forfeiture order of the sums of money to the Federal Government in a ruling delivered on June 30, 2017.

The ruling on the suit against Yari, also Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, was made available to newsmen on Tuesday.

The judge also ordered that any person(s) or body with interest in the funds must, within 14 days of the publication of the interim order of forfeiture in any national daily, show cause why an order of final forfeiture to the Federal Government of the funds should not be made.

The judge granted prayers, including “an order of interim forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria (the first applicant) of the sum of N500,000,000.00 recovered from the first respondent (First Generation Mortgage Bank Ltd.) and presently in the possession of the second applicant (EFCC) in its Recovered Funds Account domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“An order of interim forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria (first applicant) of the sum of US$500,000.00, recovered from the second applicant (Gosh Projects Limited) and presently in the possession of the second applicant (EFCC) in its Recovered Funds Account domiciled with the CBN.”

By Wale Odunsi