I can say a lot about this because i was a choir in pastor faith’s church. Twice Andy uba
worshiped with us. I can categorically tell you that they were married
and Reinhard bonnke graced the wedding. Pastor faith and her mother
Apostle charity Vedelago are both connected to the power house in Abuja.
They hold the secret of a lot of politicians in Nigeria.The current
crisis, which is threatening to engulf Andy Uba’s family, has its roots
in 2007. Shortly after the former domestic aide was sworn into office in
Anambra state, Uba ordered state officials responsible for the
production of the portrait of the state’s “first lady” from producing
those of Oby, his wife of 25 years. Uba’s strange order, we learned, was
at the instance of the “pastor” he was dating and had secretly married
in Paris by December 2008, by some accounts. But before the controversy
generated by Uba’s order could become public, he was kicked out of
office by the apex court.
Saharareporters had earlier on published reports on the scandal
rocking the Uba as a result of the former aide’s well known affair with
Ms. Faith Vedelago (popularly called “Pastor Faith”). The Abuja-based
light-skinned pastor who is notorious for her flashy personality is seen
by Uba’s associates as the architect of the crisis.
Faith Vedelago and her mother, known as Ms. Charity, figured as
facilitators who assisted some of former President Obasanjo’s close
allies to launder huge sums of money at the height of the corrupt
activities that characterized the Obasanjo administration.
Our sources pointed to “Pastor” Faith as one of the central conduits
used by Uba to launder “some of his fortune,” said the source.
Uba, who is known to nurse a soft spot for light-skinned women, grew
close to Ms. Faith purely out of the need to safeguard his investments
and looted funds, some of which was in Ms. Faith’s custody. The “pastor”
currently lives in Uba’s mansion in the highbrow Maitama district. The
mansion, conservatively valued at 1.5 billion naira, was bought in the
dying days of Obasanjo’s administration.
Oby, Uba’s wife of 25 years, confided her distress to close friends
and family. One such confidant said she often cried and threatened to
expose her husband over reports that he had wedded Ms. Faith in a secret
wedding outside the country last year. However, she was convinced to
keep mum about her husband’s indiscretions and secret marriage in order
not to jeopardize Uba’s lawsuits seeking to be returned to Government
House, Awka.
But our sources disclosed that the issue of Andy’s relationship with
Ms. Faith and the attendant hostility re-surfaced days after the Appeal
Court finally dismissed Uba’s suit.
A very close friend of the couple who spoke on condition of anonymity
told Saharareporters that Mrs. Oby Uba had demanded her husband’s
complete severance of any relationship with Ms. Faith as a condition for
her support and loyalty to Andy throughout his legal quest to regain
the office of governor. “She demanded that Andy should take steps to
remedy their marriage, which his relationship with the lady pastor had
threatened,” said the source.
Mrs. Oby Uba was upset that her husband no longer attended church
services with his family as he used to before his romantic entanglement
with the pastor, herself a divorcee. He began to attend “Pastor” Faith’s
church called Faith Miracle International Centre in the Wuse 11
District of the Capital city of Abuja. He frequently spent the night
with the lady pastor in his Maitama mansion.
Even though the former domestic aide did not fully comply with his
wife’s demands, their relationship improved enough that Mrs. Oby Uba
late last year celebrated her birthday with her family, including her
husband who entertained guests at a party he hosted for his wife.
But the seeming tranquility was shattered days after when some
religious pamphlets and books authored by “Pastor” Faith were launched
at her church’s new edifice.
Behind one of the books, titled The Power of Choice (a copy of which
was obtained by saharareporters) Ms. Faith claims that she’s married
with children. It is public knowledge that Ms. Faith Vedelago is
divorced with a daughter who is said to be about 11 years now. Andy Uba
did not attend the book launch, but sources within the church said he
had provided enough financial and logistical support to ensure the
success of the event.
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Oby, Uba’s legally known wife, was jolted by the claims of Ms.
Vadelago that she is married with children. A source close to her told
us that, although her husband’s name was not mentioned on the book
cover, Mrs. Uba finally came to terms with the likelihood that the
alleged secret wedding between her husband and the Lady Pastor may well
be true. Her friends and supporters then vowed to fight “this tomapep
pastor,” as one of them described her, for reaping where she did not
sow.
“If she’s a true believer, why is she chasing after a married man
with four grown up children?” asked one of Mrs. Uba’s confidants who
spoke to us. Uba’s oldest child is over 21 years.
Mrs. Uba is said to be pressuring the former aide to publicly deny
the rumors about the secret wedding so as to repair relations between
them. But Uba has so far refused to do so.
As Uba struggles to make himself a credible candidate in the
governorship election, he is being dogged by the domestic squabbles,
said a source close to him.
Another source within his campaign organization also added that Uba
was no longer as forthcoming with doling out cash as he used to be
during his whirlwind campaign in 2007. The source said Uba had
complained to some associates that some of the fronts he used to amass
wealth were “acting funny when he asked them to forward cash to him.”
One of those fronts is said to be Sayyu Dantata, a younger brother to Mr. Aliko Dangote.
His campaign sometimes hampered by cash flow problems, Uba is
reportedly looking to Maurice Iwu, the chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) to come to his rescue by calling
the election for him.
Besides, Uba has been profiting from another front company that
recently changed its name to Buckingham Oil and Gas. Buckingham Oil and
Gas (www.buckinghamog.com)
is a new upstart run by Faith Vedelago, her brother Richard Vedelago,
and mother, Charity Vedelago. Faith Vedelago, who is known to be one of
Andy Uba’s mistresses, lives in one of his mansions on Minister’s Hill.
According to our source, the Vedelagos are also the owners of “Windsor
Petroleum” (www.windsorpetroleum.com)
that been short-listed for crude oil lifting as well. Our checks at
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) could not find the immediate owners
of Windsor Petroleum International. Faith Vedelago holds both Nigerian
and Italian citizenships and runs a religious firm known as Faith
Miracles Ministries ( http://www.faithmiracleministries.org). She is also said to be the owner of Argent Wealth Management www.argentgp.com
based in Geneva, Switzerland. Our security source disclosed that she
uses one Stefan Moser Andon, a young man who works for Richard Vedelago
in Nigeria and has a Swiss citizenship, to front as the owner of the
company.
The Vedelagos use the Argent “black” debit card. A “black” debit card
is so-called because it is not linked to the owner’s bank account and
therefore cannot be traced to the owner. The Vedelagos also hold foreign
accounts with Barclays International, Knightsbridge Branch, London, UK
under the name of Federica Vedelago. The account numbers 1001902,
1002974 have a balance of millions of pounds/dollars, revealed our
source within the State Security Service (SSS) who has kept a tab on
Andy Uba’s business deals. The source said the EFCC was fully aware of
Uba’s far-reaching illegal business deals but remains unwilling to nab
Andy Uba.
