Diezani Allison Madueke former Minister of Petroleum Resources, has
finally spoken on several allegations of financial impropriety levelled
against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Diezani said she never stole Nigeria’s money. She made the claim in a statement she issued yesterday saying that the anti-graft agency was taking advantage of her silence to try and convict her in the media hence her response.
Recall that the EFCC had alleged that Diezani Alison-Madueke, a
former minister of Petroleum Resources, by an order of a Federal High
Court has forfeited $153.3 million to the Federal Government.
Diezani’s statement, which was made available to newsmen in Abuja, reads,
“I wish to state I cannot forfeit what was never mine.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.
The former Minister dared the EFCC to without further delay, publish
details of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC’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.
She continued:
“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.