How Buhari calmed me down, stopped my request for probe from EFCC over fraud allegations – Osinbajo

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says he was ready to waive his immunity clause so that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) can investigate fraud allegations against him.

The number two man, however, said President Muhammadu Buhari stopped him from asking the anti-graft agency to probe him.

Osinbajo has been dogged by allegations of financial impropriety on a handful of occasions.

In 2018, the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on emergency and disaster preparedness indicted the governing board of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The board, chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, was accused of illegal approval of N5.8 billion north-east intervention fund.

Also in 2020, the vice president was alleged to have collected N4 billion from Ibrahim Magu, former acting chairman of the EFCC.

Osinbajo had described the claim as “baseless” and asked Mohammed Adamu, former Inspector General of Police (IGP), to investigate the allegation.

Speaking on Friday while proposing a toast at a private dinner to celebrate Buhari’s 80th birthday, Osinbajo said the president was able to calm him down when the allegations made him angry.

“One day, I went to him because there were some allegations that were made against me,” he said.

“And I was so angry; so I went to him to show him the letter I had written to the EFCC to investigate.

“He looked at it and looked at me because he calls me VP or professor depending on his mood.

“This time he said, ‘VP, why do you worry yourself about all these people? These people just make all sorts of allegations, they make all sorts of stories up, even they are saying that I am about to get married again. And even some foolish people were waiting at the National Mosque, waiting for me to come and marry again.”

Osinbajo praised Buhari for leading the nation “with great courage, determination and commitment”.