No Deal Between Bawa, Ayeni–EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says there is no deal between its chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa and a former chairman of the defunct Skye Bank, Tunde Ayeni.

The reaction came after media reports had insinuated that Bawa was traveling  abroad on a clandestine, self-serving mission with Ayeni, who has been under the EFCC investigation for a while.

The EFCC under the leadership of Ibrahim Magu had on March 7, 2019 arraigned Ayeni, Oguntayo and two other companies before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on 10 charges bordering on money laundering to the tune of N25.4 billion.

The EFCC in a statement by the head, media and publicity,  Wilson Uwujaren, yesterday described the report as absolutely false.

Part of the statement read that “the attention of the Commission has been drawn to a so-called “exclusive’’ news report making the rounds on social media to the effect that the EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa and former chairman of the defunct Skye Bank, Tunde Ayeni, are travelling together, abroad, on a clandestine, self-serving mission.

“The story, which vainly tries to push a certain malodorous agenda, is absolutely false.

“If it were not for its potential to confound and confuse the unwary, the Commission would have ignored the story. However, there is every need to set the facts straight.

“To start with, there was never a meeting and certainly no ‘plan’ between the EFCC chair and Ayeni to go anywhere together

“Furthermore, while the EFCC chairman is at this time on an approved mission abroad, Ayeni, whom the fiction-turned-news story says is on a clandestine trip with Mr. Bawa, is, from checks, right here in Nigeria. A cursory check would have confirmed that.”