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Last Updated: Jul 21, 2008 - 9:39:02 AM |
The once powerful and loquacious Peoples Democratic Party chieftain
left Nigeria a few weeks ago after the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) sent an officer to give testimony against him in a
libel case involving Chief George and The News magazine.
The chilling testimony given by the EFCC officers made him develop cold
feet over his security since Obasanjo was no longer in power to provide
cover.
Former president Obasanjo was the first to raise alarm over George’s
disappearance from Nigeria as he told close friends and confidants that
he had not seen or heard from him for a period of two weeks.
Obasanjo had confided in one of his visitors from the UK that George
was the only PDP chieftain who came around to visit frequently in
Abeokuta and at his Otta farm where the former president lives in
virtual isolation, abandoned by friends and political associates.
As earlier reported by Saharareporters, the new EFCC leadership had
penciled George down as one of its early targets as they began
reviewing files of former corrupt government and party functionaries
indicted by the EFCC for corruption.
A source told our reporters saying, “It was the calculation of Mrs.
Farida Waziri that if former allies of Obasanjo were hounded, arrested
and detained with the blessing of magistrate court orders, the Nigerian
public will applaud her as an “anti-corruption amazon” whereas it was
all designed to deflect attention from corrupts former governors who
recruited her to man the EFCC”.
Saharareporters can reveal that Chief George was in the US living with
one of his concubines, named “June George” in the Bowie area of the
state of Maryland near Washington DC.
However, he left the US last Saturday on a flight to London, UK where
he will be hibernating for a while, according to impeccable sources
knowledgeable about his movements.
George had enjoyed virtual immunity from prosecution under former
president Obasanjo. Saharareporters had reported extensively on his
corrupt activities while he was the chairman of the board of Nigerian
Port Authority (NPA) between 2001 and 2003. A committee set up by the
former president discovered that the Chief George led NPA board
awarded, at least, 24, 252 contracts within the period under scrutiny
in different currency denominations.
About N45 billion was spent in contract awards; another $237 million
and 24 million British pounds sterling went down the drain. The
committee also discovered the misappropriation of DM 1,462 million
(German Deutch Marks) and another 148 million Euros. Another discovery
revealed that a sum of SEK 4.1 million (Swedish Kronas) was stolen by
Chief George and other board members of the NPA during the period under
investigation by the committee.
Despite an indictment by two committees set up by Obasanjo, and the
revelation of massive corruption, he was never arrested or prosecuted
for corruption.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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