Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison
Madueke has denied stealing Nigeria’s money. “I do not know the basis on which
the EFCC has 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.” “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 charges brought against me that follow duly laid down
procedures,” she said. She has been in the eye of the storm. She has been
called out by entertainers, politicians, former militants (most recently by
Asari Dokubo). The Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison
Madueke has finally spoken on several allegations of financial impropriety
levelled against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Diezani
insists that she never stole Nigeria’s money. The former Minister made the
claim in a statement she issued on Monday.
She said the anti-graft agency has
been taking advantage of her silence to try and convict her in the media.
Diezani’s statement, which was made available to newsmen in Abuja, reads, “I
wish to state I cannot forfeit what was never mine.” The former Minister dared
the EFCC to without further delay, publish details of the Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation’s accounts from where the said $153.3 million was taken.
She also said that the report that Italian prosecutors indicted her for sharing
in the loot of the $1.3 billion OPL 245 oil block deal, which involved Malabu
and the Joint Venture Multinational partners, ENI (AGIP) and Royal Dutch was
false.
“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 that plagued oil and
gas sector in the last 30 years upon my head, probably emanated from the EFCC itself.
“Let me clear 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 International Centre for Settlement of
Investment Dispute (ICSID) 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 purely a statutory, one as required by law in the Petroleum Act 3.
“In response, I have chosen not to insult, accuse or demonise 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 and 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 am a woman from the
Niger Delta, who, through perseverance and sheer hard work rose to one of the
highest positions in the country’s premier International Oil Company, and in
tune with my ethos of hard work, I earned the prestigious British Foreign and
Commonwealth Chevening Scholarship Award and was, thereafter, admitted to my
MBA programme at the World renowned Cambridge University,” she said. Let’s
pause and think. Has the EFCC actually found Diezani guilty of any of its
allegations of corruption?
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