Fayose Links Aisha Buhari With Halliburton Scandal, Lamorde Says She Is Innocent

Embattled governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, while reacting to the freezing of his personal Zenith Bank account by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, yesterday linked the wife of the Nigerian President, Aisha Buhari with the infamous Halliburton scandal.

Fayose, while asserting that the President Muhammadu Buhari should not see himself as a saint, alleged that Aisha Buhari, his wife, was involved in a transaction with an American, Jefferson, who was jailed in the Halliburton scandal in the United States. “There was a judgment against the wife of the President where she wired $170,000 to Jefferson that was convicted in the Halliburton scandal,” he claimed.

He continued: “If she wants to deny that, we will publish it in the newspapers. The government is more corrupt than ever. How could somebody stealing a cow be pursuing somebody that stole a mouse?”

In a prompt reaction to the allegation however, former Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde has said the Aisha Buhari mentioned in the sentencing document is not the same as the President’s wife. Lamorde’s reaction was in response to enquiries by a leading Nigerian online publication, Premium Times.

“I can tell you authoritatively,” said Lamorde, “that the Aisha Buhari named in that case is not President Buhari’s wife. It is another Aisha Buhari entirely. I was the director of operations at the EFCC at the time so I know about the case very well. I can tell you that it is not her. That much we established.”