Adolphus Wabara, former Senate President, has revealed he turned down a N250 million bribe intended to sway his support for the pro-third term agenda in 2006.
Wabara cited his educational background, particularly his training in the Soviet Union where he learned to oppose corruption, as the reason behind his decision.
The third-term agenda aimed to amend the constitution to allow then-President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third term in office. Wabara, who had resigned from his Senate President position due to a budget scandal in 2005, delivered a powerful speech in the Senate, influencing the subsequent voting on the matter.
In a recent interview on Untold Stories with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, Wabara expressed no regrets about his decision to reject the bribe, highlighting the importance of integrity in leadership.
In a snippet of the interview, Wabara said, “I turned down a N250 million bribe to support the third term agenda. The money came to me by 1:30 a.m., before my third-term speech. It came in a sparkling black G-Wagon. I can still remember that it was in a black G-Wagon and a rickety 504 station wagon. The money was discharged, and my wife was there.”
Also speaking on the current situation in the country, Wabara, 76, said it was unfortunate that those in power had weaponised poverty.
He said: “Hunger misdirects, and my people say that when you are having leaves or whatever the goat eats, you are the person they will continue to follow. That is what is happening in our democracy today because of hunger.
“The elders and the politicians—those in government—are not creating the enabling environments to eschew hunger. It is a deliberate act to continue to make the electorate hungry so that they will continue to follow sheepishly.
“So, there will be stomach infrastructure before they start thinking whether we are being led aright.”
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