A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ayodele Adewale, has spoken about the bullion vans spotted at the home of the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu in 2019.
KanyiDaily recalls that on February 22, 2019, two bullion vans were seen entering Tinubu’s Bourdillon residence in Lagos, a day before the presidential elections.
After casting his vote on election day, Tinubu had admitted that the bullion vans were conveying money to his house, but he defended his action, saying he has a right to his own money because he was not a government official in custody of public funds.
Tinubu’s action was widely deemed contrary to Nigerian anti-money laundering laws, which places a cap of N5 million (about $14,000) on cash handling by individuals.
Speaking on the matter during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday, Adewale said the vans spotted entering Tinubu’s house had erroneously arrived there.
According to him, the bullion vans which did not have any money in them, missed their way and ended up there at Tinubu’s home.
He said, “Some companies pay their staff in cash. The vans did not have any money in them; they missed their way and ended up there. Tinubu did not invite them.”
Reacting his denial, Rufai Oseni, one of the programme’s anchors, quizzed Adewale over Tinubu’s response to questions on the same money vans.
Oseni read out Tinubu’s reaction on February 23, 2019 confirming the vans brought money to him.
Tinubu had earlier said, “Excuse me, is it my money or government money? I don’t work for government; I am not in [any] agency of government. Let anybody come out to say I have taken any contract from the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in the last five years.
“They should prove it. I am on my own, and I am committed to my party. So, even if I have money to spend in my premises, what is your headache?
“Excuse me, if I don’t represent any agency of government and I have money to spend. If I have money, if I like, I give it to the people free of charge, a0s long as not to buy votes.
“So, who are those watching my house and looking at bullion vans? They must be mischief makers, they report falsehood, their lies are numerous, and its because they are jobless.”
But Adewale maintained his position on the vans, noting that he was with Tinubu when he gave the statement to the press in 2019, and that it was merely a statement to dispel rumours.
“I have told you; it was a missed identity of address,” Adewale responded.
Adewale also said Tinubu was employing “swag” to get the attention of Nigerians and this was mistaken for incoherent speech.
His statements drew chuckles from the Arise TV anchors.
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/ARISEtv/status/1618590861696049153?s=20&t=-MA3kDT3lz52IS42k3a2rw
KanyiDaily recalls that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had declined comments about whether it had launched an investigation to find out how Bola Tinubu came about the bullion vans that drove into his home in February 2019.
