Mustapha’s revelations: What Abdulsalami offered Adesanya, by Adebanjo, Okpozo

Posted by admin Abdulsalaami Abubakar (1998-99), Presidency, Raw Politics, Top Stories Saturday, August 6th, 2011

Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, according to an Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, offered money to the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) leaders who visited him just immediately after the demise of General Sani Abacha, the maximum dictator, to whom Major al-Mustapha was the chief security officer, CSO.

But the offer was politely turned down.

Adebanjo spoke in the wake of the revelations by al-Mustapha, that some funds were withdrawn from the coffers of the Federal Government to settle some leaders of Yorubaland with a view to keeping them quiet after the death in detention of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, aka, MKO, the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election.

The Yoruba leaders, alongside chieftains of NADECO led by the late Senator Abraham Adesanya, had several meetings with Abdulsalami in the wake of June 12 crisis but Adebanjo said the only one he was aware that money was offered was the one that preceded Abiola’s death. He relied on Adesanya’s accounts of the meetings to him. The leaders of the NADECO had attended that meeting with the former Head of State to request that they be allowed to visit and have audience with Abiola whose electoral mandate they had vigorously pursued from the time of Babangida regime which annulled the mandate, through the Shonekan interim government and the Abacha regime.

Corroborating Adebanjo’s claim, yesterday, was Senator Francis Okpozo, a South-South leader, who was part of the NADECO delegation that met Abdulsalami. Okpozo said that although provision was made by the former Head of State to give the delegation money, they rejected it.

Faulting the insinuation by al-Mustapha that the NADECO leaders, through Adesanya, a veteran of the second republic Senate, who earned for himself the description of a feisty debater, received money from Abdulsalami on behalf of NADECO to be compromised on the June 12 struggle, Adebanjo said, “Pa Adesanya and some NADECO leaders visited Aso Rock and it is common knowledge”.

He went on: “They (NADECO leaders) visited Aso Rock to plead that Abubakar should allow them have audience with Abiola but Abdulsalami said for security reasons he could not allow them.

“They discussed other matters of state and when they were about leaving, Abdulsalami called them back and handed over to Pa Adesanya an envelope. Papa asked what was in it and the Head of State said it was money. Papa then asked what it was meant for and he said it was to take care of transport.

“Papa simply told him that he felt insulted that Abdulsalami was giving him money because he paid him a visit in Aso Rock”.
Adebanjo said that since Abdulsalami is still alive, he “should come out and tell Nigerians those he gave money to, or, better still, explain to Nigerians what they did with the money they withdrew from government coffers”.

Financial arrangement
Okpozo, yesterday, denied that the delegation collected money from the former Head of State, saying that even though financial arrangement was made for the visit of the leaders to meet with the former Head of State, they turned it down.

Speaking to Sunday Vanguard in his Ozoro country home, Delta State, the second republic senator pointed out that the delegation that met with Abdulsalami was not a Yoruba delegation but a delegation of the entire southern Nigeria, which was duly nominated by the people, adding, “I was nominated to represent defunct Bendel and Arthur Nwankwo represented the South-East.” Others in the team, according to him, were the late Chief Bola Ige and Chief Ayo Opadokun.

His words: “The former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, made a financial provision for our travelling to meet him but, as if we knew things like this would happen, we did not take a kobo from Abubakar”.

He said that Admiral Mike Akhigbe(rtd), who was Abdulsalami’s deputy, and the Chief of Staff to the former Head of State were the other two persons present at the meeting.

According to Okpozo, “It was after two weeks of our consultation with him that we heard that Abiola had died. The first time we went, Abiola was detained and we told him then to release him since the former head of state, General Sani Abacha, had died, he said he would release him”.

“After two weeks, he sent for us again, saying it was to discuss the way forward. We were very reluctant to discuss any issue other than the havoc he (Abubakar) and Abacha had caused the nation. He showed sympathy for the family of the late Abiola. He was not happy and asked us, in our opinion, what he should do.

“The late Chief Bola Ige got up and told him that we wanted Abiola alive and that if he was dead, Abubakar should go and put life in him and bring him out because the people wanted him alive. It was a tug of war”, he added.

“Pa Abraham Adesanya, who led the delegation, spoke in the same vein. After discussing to a certain level, we asked General Abubakar to give us chance and we went to a room separate from the venue of the meeting to discuss further.

“He was appealing to us to make suggestions to him on the way forward and he would take it. We contacted our other leaders in Lagos and then we told him that he must vacate the seat. One of his top officers was suggesting that they had to stay until Nigeria was stabilised. I told him that the death of Abiola could cause total breakdown of law and order in the country if you bring an Hausa man or Igbo man to come and contest that election or even defunct Bendel where I come from”.

Okpozo said the delegation told Abdulsalami that the people could only allow him three months to conduct election and handover to an elected civilian government, but they later agreed that he should not stay more than one year when the government team said three months was not enough.

On the allegation that the former Head of State gave them money, he said, “When we were going, we did not take a kobo from him”.

-Vanguardwp_posts