Victor Attah, the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, has recounted how he was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after he jokingly told former first lady, Stella Obasanjo, that he owned a hotel in Barbados.
Attah shared the story on Thursday during the public presentation of his biography, titled “Attah: Architect of a New Democratic Dawn,” where he explained that he made the joke during his holiday in Barbados, where he was asked to receive the First Lady at the airport.
Recalling the incident, Attah said, “Now, fast forward, in 2002, I am the governor of Akwa Ibom State. I take my wife and my two children on holidays to Barbados as I used to do quite frequently before.
“Being governor, the High Commissioner in Trinidad came to welcome me, with all the royal treatment.
“Three days later, I got a frantic call from her. ‘Please, are you still on the island?’ I said yes, hoping nothing was wrong. She said the late First Lady, Stella Obasanjo, was coming to Barbados for a holiday, and there was no flight from Trinidad to Barbados. ‘Would you please go to the airport to receive her so she would at least have a reception?
“We went to the airport, it seemed she came with a considerable number of people. After the airport ceremony, I said where are we taking you? She said Sandy Lane. I said, ‘Ah, you’re going to my hotel’, meaning the hotel I designed.”
“Well, after a few days, she left the Island. Two weeks later, I came back to Nigeria, and there was an invitation from the EFCC to come and explain how I owned the Sainte-Helene in Barbados. That tells you the type of Nigeria we have.”