There are attempts by some powerful forces to use the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in implicating Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu over alleged money laundering , a source close to Aso Villa confirmed to TheScrutinyNG on Friday.
Speaking with our correspondent, the source who asked not to be named said those behind the move are the same forces who tried to link the governor with the removal of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.
“If you recall, when Obasa was removed, the DSS invited and detained some members of the Lagos State House of Assembly. The lawmakers were interrogated on the role played by the governor and whether they were financially induced. They all absolved the governor and said the decision to remove Obasa was entirely theirs. Yet, the president didn’t believe them”
“If you recall the president’s meeting with the Lagos lawmakers in Aso Villa, he said he saw Sanwo-Olu’s hand in the removal of Obasa and he was comfortable he could that powerful” he said.
While admitting that Aisha Achimugu, the socialite who has been declared by the EFCC is a friend to the governor, the source denied that she never acted as a front for Sanwo-Olu in anyway.
He also described as ridiculous the claim that the governor used Aisha to bankroll Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi “after both men have lost the 2023 presidential election”.
According to him, the rumour of Governor Sanwo-Olu funding the opposition has been on for a while and even President Bola Tinubu had dismissed it as a lie.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu’s loyalty to President Tinubu has never been in doubt. He is the only governor who has never had any issue with either Asiwaju or the party elders in Lagos. From the first day Asiwaju Tinubu declared intention to contest the presidential election to the end, the governor stood by him”.
“If you remember, a popular Lagos-based lawyer and senior advocate of Nigeria, Ebun- Olu Adegboruwa even issued a statement that Sanwo-Olu has abandoned governance in Lagos state for Tinubu’s presidential election. He said the governor was acting as Tinubu’s “unofficial campaign manager, media strategist and personal anchorman”.
“Sanwo-Olu stood by Asiwaju Tinubu during before, during and after the presidential election. It was not because of him that the president lost Lagos state to the opposition. Infact, he abandoned his own campaign and followed the president across Nigeria and that almost cost him his re-election too if not for the concerted efforts and last minute drive by APC members in Lagos”.
“To now claim such a man funded Atiku and Peter Obi after the election is the most ridiculous thing anyone can say. Are they saying he paid them to compensate them for their losses”?.
“The Aisha Achimugu investigation is part of their grand plan. The issue has been on for almost two years. Even the president at some point admitted that it was a lie but because of the rift between him and the governor over the Lagos Assembly crisis, he is now the one pushing the agenda out”.
“They are deliberately doing that to implicate the governor. The agenda is either to impeach him or render him completely lame. Having tried all their best and the public has refused to buy the narrative that Sanwo-Olu funded Atiku’s election, now they are even saying he also funded Peter Obi”.
“Even if you look at the online report, they said it was after the election that Sanwo-Olu gave Atiku money. What will Atiku use the money for after he has lost the election?. The whole thing is just nonsensical” he said.
