Abuja — Speculations as to the fate of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were laid to rest yesterday.
Five months after he was controversially sidelined and ordered to proceed on study leave, Ribadu was yesterday officially replaced as the chairman of the anti-graft agency.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua approved the appointment of Mrs. Farida Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, as EFCC chairman, replacing Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde who had taken over from Ribadu in an acting capacity after Ribadu resumed at the National Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.
Waziri will hold forte in an acting capacity until she is confirmed by the Senate as stipulated in the EFCC Act.
In a letter signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, he stated that the new chairman's appointment took effect from yesterday.
Waziri has LLB (Hons) and LLM degrees from the University of Lagos, BL from the Nigerian Law School, MSc in Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan and attended the Nigeria War College, Abuja.
The SSG's letter added that Waziri attended various professional and administrative courses at home and abroad, mostly on investigations and operations.
Also, the president has approved that Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, whose tenure as member and Secretary of the commission expired in April, 2008, should continue in the same office in acting capacity.
Akomoaye is a lawyer and has been with the commission since 2003.
THISDAY learnt that the appointment of Waziri, who hails from Benue State, had been in the pipeline for a while, but the President was said to have initially asked those sponsoring her nomination to "hold on".
However, her sponsors, who are said to be some former and serving governors and a former presidential aide, were said to have sealed the deal to have her appointed last weekend in Bayelsa State after a governorship campaign rally.
Kingibe's statement was silent on the fate of Lamorde, although it is assumed that he would go back to his position as Director of Operations.
However, there were strong indications that he too may be sent on compulsory study leave which was aborted in January as a result of insinuations that the EFCC was being deliberately weakened by the Federal Government to protect some individuals.
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this is a proof that mr president, umaru musa yar'adua, does not mean well for nigeria. he is a crook himself. all these reshuffling and manouvering are ways and means of positioning himself and his accomplices for the d day. i bet u all, obasanjo will be better than umaru yar'adua. let us watch. but the president has forgotten that the present crop of nigerians are smatter than him. he just happened to be rigged into office. my advise is that seeing is beleiving. the legs that move in a suspicious way, have the eyes that are suspicious too, watching him. mr president, don't fool nobody. a time will come, when u loot, u must surrender the loot, or be killed. police, army, cannot save any looter, in the days coming. there will be no due process or rule of law. be careful, where u take us to. thank u. girl candy.
The problem with most Africans is that they are so docil! You all sit there doing nothing, saying nothing, being nothing, actioning nothing, while a few thieves steal away your future and your future generations. Everyone of you want to go to EU or USA. Why can't you people fight for your countries?
By the way, ain't you people ashamed of seeing your girls roaming the streets of EU and USA as prostitutes? The womb that bear your future are being desecrated all over the world while a few falables loot your treasury.
Yaradua or whatever his name is can only do what YOU people allow him to do. Obasanjo did what YOU people allowed him to do. You people allow an individual centric government as opposed to a system. Don't crucify the man, crucify the system that allowed him to steal YOUR future. Until you all get together and change that SYSTEM, it's swan song year to year. GOODLUCK, more looting ahead!
By the way, we in the EU see it this way:
-We buy your oil, we pay you +You steal the money from your treasury and hide it in our banks. -We turn around and lend it back to you at loans at high interest rate -You make principle and interest payment with OIL to us
Summation: FREE OIL for us & Debt burdden for your generations
*****That is all so called our PROTECTING OUR STRATEGIC INTEREST*****.
So you see, its not to our interest to see your thieves tried and/or jailed.
The tactical removal of Nuhu Ribadu as head of EFCC was seen and translated as an attempt by this administration to manipulate the EFCC into a position where it can be unqestionably maneuvered by the corrupt politicians who are overwhelmingly in control of the polity to dance to their tune. With the revelation that the new replacement, Mrs. Waziri, is said to have been sponsored in part by former governors, the fear is seemingly rife that the EFCC may now become a tool in the hands of corrupt politicians. A LITTLE MORE THE WORLD WILL SEE! The two main or outstanding problems of Nigeria and majority of Nigerian politicians are CORRUPTION and very strong ETHNIC OR TRIBAL INCLINATION. These have been affecting the country since 1956 and has been waxing stronger. The country has not been, and will never progress until and unless a solution is found. Education has been found to be of not much help in a majority of cases. To avoid a catrastrophic implosion of the polity, it is felt that the NEAR OPTIMUM SOLUTION IS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF STATES IN THE COUNTRY TO THE SIX GEO-POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTRY INSTEAD OF 36 STATES. As the situation stands now, not only money is being wasted but THERE IS A COLOSSAL WASTE OF HUMAN BRAINS.
A police officer to head the EFCC.How far can Nigeria sink?The police force is one of the greatest problem facing nigerian development.The police is corrupt and untill otherwise nothing good can come from that side. The government wants to kill the EFCC by default. we can safe the EFCC ,the government should marge this organ with the ministry of finance..Ihis will make our ministry of finance very functional.Police lawyers ,police accountants, police investigators all trained in the areas of financial matters can hold fort in this department.The EFCC will no more be under pressure to carry out it's regular duties.But the EFCC as it is under a police officer's command is business as usual.We must start from somewhere.It is now. Akanki
Mr president need to understand that Nigeria of yesterday is not capable of today's game.Ribadu need to go back to his position as the chairman, he has performed well under Obasanjo's administration. We have to remember that his outstanding performances has put Nigeria back in the world Golden book.Obasanjo perfomed well and left the country on the good track.we need Ribadu for the clean up the country of bad polticians. if all the people in our polity thinks is how to loot the national's tresuary, then they need to think twice because this generation of young graduates without hope for job will be push to a breaking point which might lead to a serious revolution.Its time to put life before material thing.
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