Obasanjo challenges Buhari, I'm ready for probe

“One of the former heads of state between
that time was bragging that he spent more
than 15 billion American dollars, not Naira,
on power. Where is the power? Where is
the power? And now we have to pay the
debts,” the president had said.
In a statement issued on his behalf by
Kehinde Akinyemi, his spokesman,
Obasanjo dismissed Buhari's claim and
offered his own side of the story.
“It has come to the attention of Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo that a statement
credited to President Muhammadu Buhari,
apparently without correct information and
based on ignorance, suggested that $16
billion was wasted on power projects by “a
former president”.
“We believe that the president was re-
echoing the unsubstantiated allegation
against Chief Obasanjo by his own
predecessor but one.
“While it is doubtful that a president with
proper understanding of the issue would
utter such, it should be pointed out that
records from the National Assembly had
exculpated president Obasanjo of any
wrong-doing concerning the power sector
and has proved the allegations as false.
“For the records, Chief Obasanjo has
addressed the issues of the power sector
and the allegations against him on many
occasions and platforms, including in his
widely publicised book, My Watch in which
he exhaustively stated the facts and
reproduced various reports by both the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), which conducted a clinical
investigation into the allegations against
Chief Obasanjo, and the ad-hoc committee
on the review of the recommendations in
the report of the committee on power on
the investigation into how the huge sums
of money was spent on power generation,
transmission and distribution between
June 1999 and May 2007 without
commensurate result.
“We recommend that the president and his
co-travellers should read Chapters 41, 42,
43 and 47 of My Watch for Chief Obasanjo’s
insights and perspectives on the power
sector and indeed what transpired when
the allegation of $16 billion on power
projects was previously made. If he cannot
read the three-volume book, he should
detail his aides to do so and summarise the
chapters in a language that he will easily
understand.
“In the same statement credited to the
president, it was alleged that there was
some bragging by Chief Obasanjo over $16
billion spent on power. To inform the
uninformed, the so-called $16 billion power
expenditure was an allegation against Chief
Obasanjo’s administration and not his
claim.
“The president also queried where the
power generated is. The answer is simple:
The power is in the seven National
Integrated Power Projects and eighteen gas
turbines that Chief Obasanjo’s successor
who originally made the allegation of $16
billion did not clear from the ports for over
a year and the civil works done on the sites.
“Chief Obasanjo challenges, and in fact
encourages, anybody to set up another
enquiry if in doubt and unsatisfied with the
EFCC report and that of the Hon. Aminu
Tambuwal-led ad-hoc committee.”