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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has denied reports making the rounds that he visited embattled former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, at Kuje correctional facility in Abuja, on Tuesday.
The monarch’s spokeserson, Moses Olafare, in an interview with Vanguard on Wednesday, said Oba Ogunwusi was at the correctional facility at the instance of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Hope Alive Initiative (HAI), owned by one of his wives, Olori Temitope, which was on advocacy to the correction centre.
He said the programme, which was organised in partnership with Kuje correctional authority, centred around giving hope to inmates on reintegration into society after completing their terms, adding that Ooni was part of it, in commemoration of his eighth anniversary.
“The intent of those spreading the news was to blackmail the monarch, there is nothing hidden about the event. In any case, the king never met Emefiele because it was an official event organised by the NGO in conjunction with the Kuje Correctional Centre.
“The programme centres around giving hope to the inmates that, after serving out their terms, they still have hope to reintegrate back to the society. The Arole Ooni was invited to chair the event in commemoration of his eighth anniversary on the throne.
“What is exclusive about a public programme where different public figures spoke and representatives of the inmate also spoke? How then did the Ooni manage to meet Emefiele?
“We must be careful with how people spread falsehoods about people. The video of the event is available to the public. I am not even sure Emefiele attended the programme because he is only in detention and not an inmate yet, so why link the programme to Emefiele? It is simply to achieve blackmail,” Olafare added.
Recall that Emefiele was dragged to court on a six-count charge bordering on procurement fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was accused of using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Yaro, a staff of CBN, by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.
The former apex ban boss had been granted N300 million bail, but he is yet to perfect conditions for his release.
Following his inability to meet the bail conditions, the former CBN Governor will be staying at the correctional facility until 2024.