Strong indications are emerging that the former first Lady to the immediate Past President Goodluck Jonathan may have been at the centre of Fraud that marred the acquisition of land for the construction of affordable housing for Nigerian workers nationwide.
The Nigerian Labour Congress and Kriston –Lally hadd jointly embarked on construction of what they called ‘affordable housing’ for Nigerian workers. The Nigerian workers embrace the scheme, which was an initiative of Kriston-Lally by making a mandatory contribution of 10 percent to qualify as a subscriber to the housing scheme. A total of N3 billion was said to have been paid into a joint account of NLC-Kriston-lally.
Rather than supporting the managing of Kriston-lally to construct the houses as agreed with the subscribers, the NLC executives under the leadership of Abdulwahed Omar chose to frustrate the project by diverting the land meant for the construction of the houses by Kriston-lally to another estate developer known as Good Homes, said to belong to the wife of the former President Goodluck Jonathan. All these facts above were disclosed at a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.
Angered by the way the deal was perfected without the consent of Kriston –Lally, Madawaki Mustapha Umar, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Kriston-Lally, refused to refund the 10 percent already paid to the subscribers. The Good Homes, it was learnt is beyond the reach of Nigerian workers.
The subscribers to the scheme have already dragged the NLC-kriston-Lally to court, praying the court to enforce the right of the Nigerian workers to get back their 10 percent deposit, since their efforts to own a home is being scuttled.
At Friday’s hearing at Federal High Court, Abuja, the managing Director of Kriston-lally brought the subscribers’ money amounting about three billion to court for safe-keeping, rather than keeping with the Access Bank of Nigeria. Mustapha Umar said told the court that he did not go into hiding, contrary to earlier speculation that he has gone into hiding.
He cried that former government of Goodluck Jonathan used security, mainly the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) to harass him, a development which made him to lie low, known full well that the former first Lady could be brutal.
However, the judge in court 3 at Friday’s sitting assured the subscribers that their money was in safe hands with the court. He said the case, in two weeks to come would be transferred to Alternative Dispute Resolution.
