How Rashidi Ladoja allegedly bribed lawmakers with N80m to save himself from impeachment

A witness in the ongoing trial of former governor of Oyo state, Rashidi Ladoja, Waheed Atande, has revealed how the state government took a loan of N80 million to save the governor from impeachment.

Atande, the first prosecution witness told the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos that the executive committee of the state’s leadership processed the N80 million loan.

Ladoja and his Commissioner for Finance, Waheed Akanbi, are facing trial over N4.7 billion fraud allegedly committed during their tenure in Oyo state.

Atande, an associate of the former governor, while testifying said the loan was taken from Wema Bank.

He said, “On N80 million loan from Wema Bank, we had a discussion before writing for a loan, but when the loan went bad, WEMA bank visited Oyo State government and the second defendant (Akanbi).”

Atande told the court that the loan was borrowed through V.T Leasing Limited and disbursed to the state government through the same vendors.

He said, “I used V. T. Leasing Limited to apply for the loan from Wema bank, though, am a shareholder with less than one percent, but I used my goodwill to get the loan and I did not make any application.”

“I did not know the condition attached to giving the vehicles to 14 members of State Assembly loyal to Governor Ladoja, but the vehicles given out by the political actors in Oyo State, were collected by the Oyo State government’s drivers before handling them to 14 Ladoja loyalists at the State House of Assembly.

“There was an agreement between V. T. Leasing and the beneficiaries of the vehicles as a backup to the lease agreement.”