•Anti graft agency ‘taking advantage of my silence to try me by media’
•Denies withdrawal of $153m from NNPC accounts
•Yenagoa estate is family compound built in 2011
Embattled former Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, is not taking allegations of massive corruption leveled against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lightly.
She rose in her own stout defence yesterday, denying the allegations.
She accused the EFCC of taking advantage of her silence all this while to put her on media trial and declared in a lengthy statement from her London home.
She said given the “level of deliberate inaccuracies”, she had now been forced to break her silence and respond to some issues.
She specifically denied ever withdrawing $153million from the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) while in office and said the Yenagoa estate, which the EFCC ascribed to her is her family’s compound built in 2011.
The EFCC, according to her, is only out to convict her in the court if public opinion based on “false reports.”
She said: “I have up till now chosen to maintain my silence and not to respond to inaccurate press reporting.
“However, given the level of deliberate inaccuracies, I am now forced to respond because it is clear that the EFCC is taking advantage of my silence to try me by media and to convict me in the eyes of the public on false reports.
“I am deeply disturbed and bewildered by recent media reports (Premium Times Thursday 12 January, 2017 and other dailies about the same time) claiming that by virtue of an order of the Federal High Court, I have forfeited to the Federal Government, the sum of $153.3m which I purportedly stole from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
“First and foremost, whilst the reasons for my being out of the country are public knowledge, the principle of fair hearing demands that I should have been notified of formal charges if truly there was a prima facie evidence or indictment against my person linking me with the said issue, so as to ensure that I had adequate legal representation. This was never done.
“I wish to state that I cannot forfeit what was never mine. I do not know the basis on which the EFCC had chosen to say that I am the owner of these funds as no evidence was provided to me before the order was obtained and they have not in fact served me with the order or, any evidence since they obtained it.”
She went on: “As at the time of my writing this rebuttal (Thursday 19th January, 2017) the EFCC has still not furnished me or my Lawyers, with a copy of the order.
“I am also informed by my lawyers that the legislation under which the EFCC obtained this order is for situations where the funds are believed to be the proceeds of crime and the owner is not known.
“I do not therefore understand how the EFCC can in the same breath say that the monies in question are mine.
“If they had evidence that the monies were mine then they would not /should not have used the procedure which applies only to funds of unknown ownership.
“If indeed they used this particular legal procedure because they did not know who owned the monies, then how can they now be falsely attributing the ownership to me.
“Let me re-state categorically as I have always maintained for the record, I have not and will never steal money from or defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“I am willing to respond to any charges brought against me that follow duly laid down procedures.
“However, in their typical manner and style, the EFCC has gone to the media to attempt to prosecute their case as trial by TV and other media, rather than go through the onerous but tried and tested means of the Judicial Court process.
“In the face of the obvious falsification of facts and misinformation, it is only right and proper that the EFCC should publish the details of the $153.3M lodgements, the bank account numbers and the account beneficiaries, showing proof of my link to them.
“Having also alleged that the said $153.3M was ‘wired’ from NNPC, the EFCC should also publish details of the NNPC accounts from where the said $153.3 million was taken from with proof that I authorized such a transaction/transactions acting either in my private capacity or, as The Honourable Minister of Petroleum.
“Let me state for the record that as Minister of Petroleum, the operation and management of NNPC finances were outside my purview as outlined in both the Petroleum Act and the NNPC Act.
“The only involvement I had in NNPC Finances was in terms of statutory matters where the Petroleum Act prescribed that as Minister, there were certain duties or actions which I had to perform or take in relation to NNPC.
On alleged $700million found in her house and some mansions traced to her, Diezani accused EFCC of witch-hunt.
She added: “On the 13th of June 2016, the EFCC once again took their well-trodden path to the media. This time claiming that they had ‘discovered’ a mansion in Asokoro, Abuja, worth $18million (approx. N9billion) which they purported to belong to me.
“The EFCC went to the extent of bringing in Aljazeera, an International TV Station, to air a damaging documentary against me in this regard, showing a particular residential building in Asokoro, Abuja, which they told Aljazeera belonged to me.
“The EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu, personally took the Aljazeera reporter to the building, alleging that it belonged to me.
“It has since become apparent that the house belongs to a company owned by Mr Kola Aluko.
“If this is not a witch-hunt or a personal vendetta against me, how is it that one of our Country’s premier investigative agencies was unable to avail themselves of facts that are freely available in the public domain?
“Since the EFCC claims that the alleged $18million Asokoro property belongs to me, then they should kindly produce the ‘Authentic’ Certificate of Occupancy and Land Registry information and any other relevant information, as proof of my ownership of the property.
“On the 9th November 2016, the EFCC visited our family home in Yenagoa (Bayelsa State) as pre-agreed and they were escorted around the premises.
“I was therefore completely shocked to once again see my name sensationally splashed across the Front Pages of Newspapers and widely circulated on the internet, with blaring Headlines such as “EFCC UNCOVERS DIEZANI’S MULTI-BILLION NAIRA ESTATE” – Nation Newspaper, January 8, 2017 (Annex- 4A). There was absolutely nothing ‘Hidden’ or ‘Concealed’ about the home.
“I had declared it openly as required by Law, in my Asset declaration forms (Annex-4B). Yet the EFCC announced that they ‘Just Discovered’ my ‘Hidden Estate’! And labelled it a ‘Multi-Billion Naira Estate’! Even though they had been given the Bill of Quantities, showing actual amount spent.
“It is accepted tradition across the length and breadth of Nigeria, for people to own Country/Village homes. Given the size of the land and the location of the compound, the buildings thereon cannot by any stretch of the imagination be a “Multi-Billion Naira” palatial estate, as the news mongers would want to portray.
“The EFCC were taken on a tour of the compound which consisted of a Main house, and two outhouses – An Obi (meeting bungalow) and a staff quarters(BQ) building – above which we built 3 guest rooms and a parlour.
“The only other two structures are the gate and generator houses. Construction began in late 2011 and was handled in phases.
“During the visit the EFCC was given the bill of quantities, which up until the time construction stopped in early 2015, due to my illness, was at approximately N394million which was declared in the code of conduct documentation, attached (the costs were partially funded by a loan – see code of conduct – Annex4B, the work is still uncompleted and the contractor is still being owed).
“Building costs escalated as a result of delays in construction and external factors such as the extreme flooding of late 2012 that covered most of our areas in the Niger Delta.
“It is the accepted norm when building in the Niger Delta, that due to the topography of the land and the heavily waterlogged and marshy terrain, construction is infinitely more expensive than in other parts of the country, as by its nature it requires the building of extensive piling/raft foundations before any structural work can commence.
“The flooding of 2012 compounded the problem and further increased the cost of construction.
“Stories were circulated by unscrupulous agents of calumny that the EFCC found a mind boggling $700million in cash in my home in Abuja.
“Would the videos of this $700 million cash discovery not have made good viewing? Or should those who recovered this money not tell the public where exactly the money was kept?
“Perhaps the Central Bank should corroborate that it is in custody of these monies allegedly found in my house
“But then, it is now patently apparent that Nigerians are no longer easily led to believe fables and sensational untruths.”
The ex-Minister said despite the criticism of her tenure, she left $5.6billion LNG dividends for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
She said: “I would like to state for the record that I performed my duty as Minister of Petroleum Resources with the utmost sincerity and sense of responsibility, ensuring that all Nigerians irrespective of creed, gender or tribe enjoyed their rightful benefits from the Oil and Gas Sector.
“It is pertinent to note that at the end of my tenure, I left behind in the LNG dividend fund, for the incoming Administration, the sum of $5.6billion (five billion six hundred million US Dollars)(Annex-6A).
“I did this to ensure continuity in the crucial gas sector development which underpins the entire Power and Energy Sector and which was and still is, absolutely imperative for the Country’s current and future economic development.”
Regarding Malabu oil block (OPL 245) , the ex-Minister said her role was a “purely statutory one as required by Law in the Petroleum Act.”
She said she did not benefit in any way from the transactions or negotiations on the oil block.
She said: “With regards to the various news reports published in both the online and print media, insidiously inferring that I was indicted by Italian prosecutors for, as they put it, ‘ sharing in the Loot’ of the $1.3bn OPL 245 oil block deal that involved Malabu and the Joint Venture Multinational partners, ENI(AGIP) and Royal Dutch Shell.
“Let me once again state for the record that this is another figment of the author’s imagination, which given the persistent bid to ensure my destruction and stick all of the sins of the Corruption plagued Oil and Gas Sector of over the last 30years upon my head, probably emanated from the EFCC itself!
“Let me clarify the position are the history of OPL 245, otherwise known as Malabu. You will find a full chronology in the attached report that I made to the House of Representatives in late 2011 (Annex 2A/Annex-2B).
“In 2010, shortly after I was appointed as Minister of Petroleum Resources, the issue of OPL 245 was brought to my attention.
“I looked into the case and immediately became aware of the inherent and long standing sensitivities around this issue.
“It became clear from the onset that this case was not within the direct purview of the Minister of Petroleum Resources but in the main was centered around issues of Law.
“By this time there was already an ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes) investigation and claims against the FGN running into billions of dollars.
“Therefore, we took directives from the Chief Legal Officer of the nation; the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. In all of these matters due process was followed to the letter at all times.
“I wish to categorically state that I have never held any discussions on this matter with any individuals or entities outside of official channels.
“As Minister of Petroleum Resources, I did not participate in any activity relating to financial payments on the Malabu matter, other than those statutorily mandated to the Minister of Petroleum Resources by the Petroleum Act.
“My role in this matter was a purely statutory one as required by Law in the Petroleum Act.”
In an emotional tone, Diezani expressed confidence that she will be vindicated at the end of the ongoing investigations at home and in the UK.
She added: “It is saddening that after eight years of serving my country, my experience as a public servant has been fraught with continuous malicious castigation and character assassination, all in the name of ‘personal vendettas’ or political horse trading.
“It has become apparent to many that these untruths told were at best well-crafted fables.
“The most dramatic and damning accusation was the infamous missing $49.8 Billion Dollars, that went from to $12billion and then up to $20 billion and which was alleged missing from NNPC.
“Today, we all know that the PWC report that was published cleared me of any wrong doing and no one up till now has been able to controvert the PWC report nor has anyone found the “missing” 20 billion, or who took it.
“In addition, the Makarfi-led committee in the Senate of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, in a series of publicly-held hearings, also vindicated me on the matter of the purportedly missing funds.
She said: “I would like to state for the record that I performed my duty as Minister of Petroleum Resources with the utmost sincerity and sense of responsibility, ensuring that all Nigerians irrespective of creed, gender or tribe enjoyed their rightful benefits from the Oil and Gas Sector.
“Yet, we are all silent as if these events never occurred! The allegations that I have addressed above are no different, the character assassination continues, this time with a new set of hirelings.
“One of the basic tenets of the human trait is that we all have shortcomings and we all make our fair share of mistakes, whether we are in positions of leadership, or not.
“However, one error that cannot be ascribed to me is stealing from Nigeria and defrauding my country!
“It is therefore sad and distressing that in spite of all that I tried to do in the best interest of our nation, I continue to be faced with constant demonisation, unproven accusations and deeply personal insults.
“In response I have chosen not to insult, accuse or demonise anyone, any person or persons. In spite of all the allegations that have been made against me, not one has been factually proven.
“I remain very proud of the fact that all the policies, tenets and plans that I initiated in the Oil & Gas sector are still underpinning the entire structure.
“This is because they were put in place with the good of the entire nation and its people in mind. They were not factional, or tribal, neither were they based on religious bias.
“I can therefore, no longer sit back and allow the fabricated accusations against my person designed by unscrupulous persons with a vengeful agenda go unchallenged.
“As a Christian, it is my sincerely held belief that in the coming months, history will be the judge of exactly who lied and who told the truth. By the Grace of God, I shall be here to see the day when truth prevails.
“The fight against corruption in Nigeria will be far better served if the EFCC focuses on incontrovertible facts, as opposed to media sensationalism and completely distorted stories, in their bid to demonize and destroy a few specially chosen Nigerians.”
The Nation
