President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, denied his alleged complicity in a N155 billion oil block scandal allegedly involving Shell, ENI subsidiaries in Nigeria, a Nigerian oil firm and a former Petroleum Minister, Mr Dan Etete.
The President who had kept mum since an online news medium, Premium Times, last week, disclosed that it had secured documents revealing how he (Jonathan) okayed the secret payment of N155 billion from the federation account to a private oil company owned by the ex-Minister who was earlier convicted on a money laundering charge, yesterday, described the allegation as baseless, insisting that “it has become necessary to issue a comprehensive response to these allegations to set the records straight.”
President Goodluck Jonathan inspect the parade at the 48th edition of the Nigerian Airforce Day Celebration in Kaduna .
It will be recalled that a report by the United States-based anti-corruption NGO, Global Witness, said that Nigerian subsidiaries of Shell and ENI agreed to pay $1.092 billion to the Federal Government for oil block OPL 245.
The report which was entitled, “Shell’s obscure payments kill its case for weak US and EU transparency laws”, equally alleged that the Federal Government then paid the entire N155 billion to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company owned by Mr. Etete, who was the oil Minister under late General Sani Abacha.
Meanwhile, in a follow-up story, the online news medium, contended that the money was paid on the order of President Jonathan, adding: “Our investigation also indicates that in order to cover up what is clearly one of the most elaborate corruption schemes in Nigeria’s history, the president tapped the junior minister in the Finance Ministry, Yerima Ngama, and Attorney General Mohammed Adoke to hurriedly transfer the funds to Mr. Etete on August 16, 2011, a day before the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, assumed office.”
Govt only acted as mere facilitator
Reacting to the allegations yesterday, President Jonathan, through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, stressed that contrary to the insinuations, the government only acted as “mere facilitator of an amicable settlement between two disputing parties over a long standing dispute with obvious economic implications for the country.
“In view of the misrepresentations and obvious mischief in reporting the role of the Federal Government, its agencies and officials in the settlement of the dispute, it has become necessary to issue a comprehensive response to these allegations so as to set the records straight and properly explain the role played by the Federal Government, its agencies and officials in accordance with this administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability in governance.
…..reported by Oguntiloye Kunle
The Lion Reporters 