How Fayose erred with his allegation against Aisha Buhari

– Governor Fayose unknowingly erred with his allegation against Aisha Buhari

– Fayose confuses the Halliburton scandal of 1994 with the Jefferson corruption of 2005

– The Hallibuton bribery scandal and the Jefferson bribery cases happened at least 11 years apart

A report on Premium Times has shown how Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state unknowingly mixed up the Halliburton scandal of 1994 with the Jefferson corruption of 2005 in his allegations against the first lady Aisha Buhari.

Both cases came to public awareness again after Governor Ayodele Fayose relived the controversy on Monday, June 20, stressing the role played by the first lady Aisha Buhari in the messy Halliburton scandal.

The governor’s outburst came after his personal account in Zenith Bank was frozen by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

According to Fayose, his rights have been trampled on by the anti-graft agency.

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose said President Buhari was far from being a clean man.

“Even the President cannot claim to be an angel,” the governor said, in reaction to the freezing of his Zenith Bank account by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“The estate he built in Abuja is known to us. His wife was indicted over the Halliburton Scandal (sic). When that American, Jefferson, was being sentenced, the President’s wife was mentioned as having wired $170,000 to Jefferson. Her name was on page 25 of the sentencing of Jefferson. We can serialize the judgment for people to see and read,” the statement added.

Fayose repeated the claim in a statement he released on Wednesday, June 22, by his chief press secretary, Idowu Adelusi. He said Mrs. Buhari refused to travel with the president to the United States because of her involvement in the scandal.

He said: “It is on record that the President has visited USA three times and his wife did not travel with him. Equally, she ought to have visited the USA last year September to chair a United Nation programme but she sent wife of the Senate president, Mrs Toyin Saraki to represent her.”

However, Premium Times’ fact check has shown how Governor Fayose erred in his allegation against Mrs Buhari.

According to the media platform, Fayose’s had clearly confused the Halliburton scandal with Jefferson corruption case when he said “Buhari’s wife was indicted over the Halliburton Scandal.”

William Jefferson case

Although, he cited the Halliburton scandal in his allegation against Aisha Buhari, Fayose was actually referring to the William Jefferson case of 1994.

Jefferson, between 2000 and 2005, used his position as member of the U.S. House of Representatives to offer illegal services to private companies for cash rewards.

However, investigations into the Jefferson bribery started in 2005 after an investor alleged he paid $400,000 in bribe through Jefferson, for him to help persuade top government officials in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon approve the use of a Kentucky-based technology company, iGate’s two-way broadband technology.

It was gathered that Jefferson and his family, according to US authorities, received the mentioned amount through his firm, ANJ Group, for services rendered to iGate, an American broadband technology provider.

On 30 July, 2005, FBI agents videotaped Mr. Jefferson receiving $100,000 in $100 bills in a leather briefcase at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Virginia.

He was also recorded telling an investor Lori Mody, who was acting undercover for the FBI that he needed to bribe former Vice President Atiku Abubakar with $500,000, which he described as a “motivating factor” to secure the broadband contract for iGate in Nigeria but unknown to Jefferson, Mody was wearing a wire.

In August 2005, FBI agents raided Jefferson’s home and congressional office and