Five oil companies in Nigeria have been corruptly linked to a massive slush fund involving the embattled Mrs Madueke.
Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke
Five oil companies have been linked with the $153million seized
from former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke,
The Nation learnt yesterday.
The chief executives of the oil firms are believed to have gone
underground to evade arrest, prompting investigators to believe that
they may have opted to forfeit the cash.
But the source of the cash sparked a row last night following
claims by a suspect that the $153million was sourced by the former
minister from the five oil firms and not the accounts of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The suspect said the $153million was another tranche of funds
mobilised under the table by Mrs Alison-Madueke from oil companies for
the re-election of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
The board of NNPC is likely to meet in Abuja to get “a full
briefing” on the cash scandal. Justice Muslim Hassan of the Lagos
Division of the Federal High Court on January 6 ordered the seizure of
the cash which, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), was stolen from the NNPC’s accounts and stashed in
some banks.
The oil companies whose identities remain unknown “so as not to jeopardise the investigation were allegedly involved in how the funds were wired in exchange for some concessions.
“It is however indisputable that the oil companies collaborated
with Diezani and acted on her instructions to haul the cash to one of
the banks which distributed it to others,” a source close to the investigation said.
“EFCC detectives have succeeded in cracking how the funds were channeled and distributed.
“Detectives are on the trail of the chief executives of the
five companies. One of them was allegedly traced to London and we are
expecting his arrest anytime from now. The EFCC and UK authorities have
closed in on one of the oil chiefs in London,” the source said, pleading not to be named because he is not permitted to talk to the media.
On the source of the $153million, one of the suspects said came from the oil firms’ chiefs and not the NNPC accounts.
Another source said: “The suspect said only the oil chiefs could explain where they got the $153million.
“The suspect insisted that the cash was not from NNPC’s
accounts. The suspect said this was why the ex-minister had the audacity
to raise some posers for EFCC on the cash.
“But irrespective of the source, the EFCC had uncovered the
slush funds and none of the oil firms’ chiefs has come out to claim it.
They are even distancing themselves from the money. They prefer to
forfeit the money than being brought to justice.”
Mrs Alison- Madueke last Saturday faulted EFCC’s findings that the $153million was stolen from NNPC’s account( s).
In a statement from London, she said: “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 $153.3million
lodgments, the bank account numbers and the account beneficiaries,
showing proof of my link to them.
“Having also alleged that the said $153.3million 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
authorised 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.”
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