December 3, 2007
About $90 Million (N9Billion) said to be part of the missing campaign funds from the ill-fated Obasanjo for third term has been traced to the contract for the construction of the domestic new terminal 2 project at Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Lagos. Two former principle campaigners, Mr. Andy Uba and his Attorney and Business Associate, Mr. Wale Babalakin, SAN, are being linked to the questionable financial transaction.
Emerging facts which would amount to a New Year rude awakening for Nigerians show that the campaign money was originally lodged in an Oceanic Bank account and later removed under an arrangement that was described as sourcing “an unsecured loan.” Babalakin who currently heads the operations of the Nigerian/Italian Construction conglomerate, Stabilini Visinoni was said to have perfected “an arrangement with Uba through which remnant campaign funds hitherto kept at Oceanic Bank was moved as part of the working capital for the N25 Billion worth Terminal 2 project.
According to Pointblanknews.com sources, Uba has no known direct holding share in Stabilini Visinoni. His lawyer, Mr. Babalakin does. Babalakin, Chairman of Stabilini Visinoni, became famous when he was arrested and detained for Failed Bank crimes from1995-1997 by the Late General Sani Abacha’s regime. However, he was restored into popular reckoning by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration from where his company won the airport contract. And when Andy Uba decided that he would “divert” the multi-billion naira campaign funds for personal use, the existence of which was not known to many of the third term campaigners, he asked for Babalakin’s counsel.
An arrangement was brokered in which Babalakin offered to use his privilege headship in Stabilini Visinoni and the company’s corporate link with Oceanic Bank, its principal banker to work out a “soft huge unsecured loan” that would enable the construction company to execute the Terminal 2 project.
Although, Stabilini Visinoni had handled many impressive public projects in Nigerian since it was first incorporated in March, 1969, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN under the leadership of Mr. Mohammed Yusufu was not comfortable with the structural and engineering standard of the Terminal 2 project. Yusufu and his team’s decision was said to have been informed by the general apathy concerning civil aviation security in Nigeria. Ideally, the Terminal 2 project would have handled a fleet of several aircraft at the same time, but upon completion of the Stabilini Visinoni contract, aviation experts were of the opinion that the terminus could only handle three aircraft at a time. It was gathered that FAAN under Yusufu demanded an explanation for the disparity between expectation and delivery. Sources said that instead of Babalakin providing rationale justification(s) for the quality of job done by Stabilini Visinoni, he further tried to bamboozle the management of FAAN to reserve its judgment and begin to issue compulsory directive to domestic airliners to commence immediate landing at the new Tarmac.
FAAN refused to blink.
Babalakin parried the issue. Called Uba, with whom, knowing their personal financial stakes, he pressurized the Presidency to relieve the FAAN Managing Director, Mr. Yusufu of his appointment.
A FAAN source told pointblanknews.com that “all this trouble started when Yusufu insisted that he cannot force airliners to land in a Terminal that is structurally deficient and they all ganged up against him.”
Yusuf, who was removed in September, 2007 was replaced by Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun who has since taken off as the new helms man implementing Babalakin and Uba’s wishes to a hilt.
Efforts made by pointblanknews.com to talk to Mr. Babalakin were futile as calls put through to Stabilini Visinoni were not picked.
Emerging facts which would amount to a New Year rude awakening for Nigerians show that the campaign money was originally lodged in an Oceanic Bank account and later removed under an arrangement that was described as sourcing “an unsecured loan.” Babalakin who currently heads the operations of the Nigerian/Italian Construction conglomerate, Stabilini Visinoni was said to have perfected “an arrangement with Uba through which remnant campaign funds hitherto kept at Oceanic Bank was moved as part of the working capital for the N25 Billion worth Terminal 2 project.
According to Pointblanknews.com sources, Uba has no known direct holding share in Stabilini Visinoni. His lawyer, Mr. Babalakin does. Babalakin, Chairman of Stabilini Visinoni, became famous when he was arrested and detained for Failed Bank crimes from1995-1997 by the Late General Sani Abacha’s regime. However, he was restored into popular reckoning by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration from where his company won the airport contract. And when Andy Uba decided that he would “divert” the multi-billion naira campaign funds for personal use, the existence of which was not known to many of the third term campaigners, he asked for Babalakin’s counsel.
An arrangement was brokered in which Babalakin offered to use his privilege headship in Stabilini Visinoni and the company’s corporate link with Oceanic Bank, its principal banker to work out a “soft huge unsecured loan” that would enable the construction company to execute the Terminal 2 project.
Although, Stabilini Visinoni had handled many impressive public projects in Nigerian since it was first incorporated in March, 1969, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN under the leadership of Mr. Mohammed Yusufu was not comfortable with the structural and engineering standard of the Terminal 2 project. Yusufu and his team’s decision was said to have been informed by the general apathy concerning civil aviation security in Nigeria. Ideally, the Terminal 2 project would have handled a fleet of several aircraft at the same time, but upon completion of the Stabilini Visinoni contract, aviation experts were of the opinion that the terminus could only handle three aircraft at a time. It was gathered that FAAN under Yusufu demanded an explanation for the disparity between expectation and delivery. Sources said that instead of Babalakin providing rationale justification(s) for the quality of job done by Stabilini Visinoni, he further tried to bamboozle the management of FAAN to reserve its judgment and begin to issue compulsory directive to domestic airliners to commence immediate landing at the new Tarmac.
FAAN refused to blink.
Babalakin parried the issue. Called Uba, with whom, knowing their personal financial stakes, he pressurized the Presidency to relieve the FAAN Managing Director, Mr. Yusufu of his appointment.
A FAAN source told pointblanknews.com that “all this trouble started when Yusufu insisted that he cannot force airliners to land in a Terminal that is structurally deficient and they all ganged up against him.”
Yusuf, who was removed in September, 2007 was replaced by Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun who has since taken off as the new helms man implementing Babalakin and Uba’s wishes to a hilt.
Efforts made by pointblanknews.com to talk to Mr. Babalakin were futile as calls put through to Stabilini Visinoni were not picked.
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