Revelations of how the former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, illegally became the sole signatory of African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) bank accounts, amid allegations that she diverted millions of funds donated to the mission for personal use.
According to villa sources, who gave an expose on the illicit activities surrounding Aisha Buhari, the former First Lady received donations from countries, institutions and influential Nigerians which she diverted for personal use.
Soon after she took over as president of AFLPM, Mrs Buhari, in disregard to the constitution of the AFLPM, emerged the sole signatory of the Naira and Dollar accounts belonging to the mission.
For fear that her reputation would be soiled by fraud over the shady way the mission was ran, the Executive Secretary of AFLPM, Mrs. Oley Dibba-Wadda resigned her appointment barely six months after she got the job.
Dibba-Wadda, a Gambian activist, was said to be concerned about the way the ex-First Lady was single handedly running the affairs and finances of the Mission without a proper governing board.
The former Executive Secretary is president and CEO of the Gam Africa Institute for Leadership (GAIL), a 2019 Amujae Initiative fellow.
Mrs Buhari was, in 2021, elected the ninth president of AFLPM, a
mission formed in 1995 after the Fourth World Conference in Beijing on women.
The AFLPM is made up of 45 member states, and coordinated by a president and executive bureau representing each region, with the aim of building a culture of peace and development; offering support and services to victims of conflict; and using appropriate mechanisms and institutions to protect women and children in armed conflict areas.
However, sources in the know, revealed to Pointblanknews that the former first lady, turned the AFLPM into a money-syphoning platform, “receiving billions of Naira and millions of dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Minister of Finance, the African Development Bank (ADB), and other sources, without proper accountability or oversight.”
The sources, close to the ex-president’s wife, said the CBN under its suspended governor, Godwin Emefiele donated N3 Billion; the Minister of Finance, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, donated N2 Billion; the ADB donated 6 Million Dollars in November 2021.
However, in a bid to cover her tracks, it was gathered that Aisha Buhari planned to alter the constitution of the mission to allow her continue to head the mission even after her tenure as the First Lady.
Another source revealed that donations were received from many countries like Turkey, Qatar secretly.
It was learnt that staff members who have details of the sources of the funds were blackmailed and disgraced out of office.
The funds and projects received were managed as a family affair without accountability.
To cover up her fraudulent activities with the funds, it was learnt that the former First Lady resorted to sending rice and blankets to some African countries, claiming they were donations from the AFLPM, even though they were actually purchased using funds received by her Future Assured Foundation.
“For 11 years the AFLPM was housed in a befitting building as given by the Federal Government, many years ago, she relocated the office to one floor in Garki, (one of the properties Aisha Buhari illegally acquired through AMCON) using the names of her siblings and relatives.
“It’s interesting to note that the First Lady is the sole signatory of the Naira and Dollar accounts of the AFLPM which is against the constitution.
“For public verification purposes, here are the details:
Naira Account
Bank – Zenith Bank Plc
Account Number- 1219591198
Account Name – African First Ladies Peace Mission
“Dollar Account
Account Name : African First Ladies Peace Mission
Account Number : 5072100380
Bank : Zenith Bank
SWIFT : ZEIBNGLA
Bank Address : 84 Ajide Adeogun Street Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria.
“To also cover up the embezzlements, Aisha Buhari also sent 100,000 blankets to Turkey during the earthquake.
The blanket had come as donations received by her future assured foundation from another body, however to justify squandering money received by the AFLPM, Aisha has now claimed that the blankets were bought on behalf of AFLPM.
“She sent rice and Kuli Kuli (a local snack) to African countries to justify the 5 billion Naira and 6 million USD received on behalf of AFLPM.
“She also sent blankets to Turkey during an earthquake, claiming that they were bought on behalf of AFLPM to justify squandering the money received … truth was that the funds raised were funneled into her personal accounts and used for her lavish lifestyle.”