WIFE of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin
Saraki, visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s office
in Abuja on Tuesday with a plethora of supporters who are lawmakers.
Mrs. Saraki was invited alongside Zainab
Dankingari, the wife of a former governor of Kebbi State and daughter
of the late president, Umaru Yar’Adua.
Mrs. Saraki arrived at the EFCC office
by 12:36 pm and was taken into the Economic Governance Unit of the
commission for interrogation and left the commission’s Idiagbon House
headquarters, at Wuse 2, Abuja by 6.15pm.
Mrs.
Saraki was accompanied to the EFCC headquarters by some senators, over
20 members of the House of Representatives and members of the Kwara
State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Dr. Ali Ahmad.
Some of the senators who visited the
EFCC headquarters in solidarity with her are Senators Isah Sani, Dino
Melaye, Abdul Abubakar, Binta Goje, Abdulahi Sabi, and Peter Nwaoboshi.
But some of the members of the National
Assembly left after waiting for two hours, while others were at the
commission until her release by 6:15pm.
She is expected to be at the commission to respond to questions for the second day on Wednesday.
However, the commission could not carry out the planned interrogation of Mrs. Zainab Dakingari.
Although she honoured the commission’s
invitation, the operatives had to postpone her interrogation to
Wednesday on health grounds.
She arrived at the commission by 3pm and was allowed to go before 4pm.
The commission had invited both women to appear before it on July 22, 2015.
It was stated that while Saraki was
invited to respond to questions about contracts executed in Kwara State
when her husband, Senator Bukola Saraki, was Governor from 2003 to 2011,
Dakingari was needed in relation to how N2bn belonging to Kebbi State
was spent.
Meanwhile, Mrs Saraki, has said that she
would cooperate with any lawful inquiry in consonance with the ethos of
democratic governance and expected the EFCC to carry out its
responsibility with observance to the global practices of fairness,
impartiality and transparency.
She said that she had ensured adherence
to the stipulations of the law and observed international best standards
in all her operations.
“As a citizen with the utmost respect
for highest standards of transparency and democratic accountability, Her
Excellency Mrs Toyin Saraki visited the EFCC today as per their
invitation. Mrs Saraki made herself available to assist the commission
wholeheartedly with any lawful enquiry they may have. Following today’s
visit, Mrs. Saraki will continue to cooperate fully with the EFCC, and
hopes for a prompt and positive resolution in satisfaction of this
enquiry.
“Having placed an emphasis on the
importance of accountability, transparency and diligent reporting, Mrs.
Saraki maintains that she has always operated within the law and to the
highest standards of global compliance in all of her activities,” she
said.