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PDP accuses Presidency of shielding APC leaders from trial

By Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja
04 September 2015   |   3:04 am
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said that it had incontrovertible evidence of corrupt practices allegedly perpetrated by associates and cronies of government
Olisa Metuh

Olisa Metuh

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said that it had incontrovertible evidence of corrupt practices allegedly perpetrated by associates and cronies of government, including former and present All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and others who played major roles in financing political campaigns with alleged stolen state funds and were being protected by the APC-led Federal Government.

The party said this has created a system that is neck-deep in corruption, while the government hoodwinks unsuspecting public with propaganda.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement yesterday, said while the party is not averse to the fight against corruption, “the onus lies on the APC-led Federal Government to wage a credible holistic anti-corruption war by first purging itself of unclean association and coming out clear on sleazes already going on in government quarters since it took office in May.”

Metuh said: “Whereas the PDP restates its respect for the person and office of the President as well as our support for the war against corruption, it is incumbent on us to alert Nigerians of the prevailing circumstances around this government that are capable of fundamentally undermining good governance if left unchecked.

“Charity, they say, begins at home. For the APC-led government, it has now become a question of ‘physician, heal thyself’. Every discerning mind knows that this administration is not executing a credible holistic war against corruption because it is a product of corruption, surrounded by corrupt persons; a factor apparently responsible for its obvious blind eyes to huge sleazes now being perpetrated in government agencies by persons claiming closeness to the President.

“It is indeed alarming that in so short a time, an administration that rode to power on claims of anti-corruption credentials, has broken the records in constitutional violations and abuse of regulations, especially in its adamant stance to run a government without the statutory components of a full cabinet, thereby creating loopholes for APC interests to invade key government agencies for inflated concessions, allocations, jobs and other financial sleazes.”

The party, therefore, decried alleged violation of the constitution by the President by making some appointments without seeking clearance from the National Assembly.

“How else can one explain the deliberate constitutional violations in the appointment of heads of financial handling federal agencies, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) without due process of ministerial consultations and legislative clearance, as the case may be? Is this a scheme to open up these key finance institutions for malpractices and turn them into cash cows for APC interests?” the party said.

It also ‎alleged that there were ongoing maneuverings in the oil sector where clandestine moves are on to award oil refining licences to cronies without the due process of open bidding as well as statutory guidelines and checks by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

On the protection allegedly being given to some APC leaders, the PDP said: “Furthermore, we wish to draw the attention of all Nigerians to the fact that this administration, for obvious reasons, has deliberately turned a blind eye to the corrupt acts of most APC leaders, who as governors, ministers and labour leaders have been the worst corrupt set of people ever to bestride the political landscape of the country.

“Otherwise, how else can one explain the deafening silence by the government to the public outrage over the massive looting of public funds by some past APC governors?

“How can the Federal Government explain its continued silence to the current indignation in one of the prominent South-West APC states over corruption issues, including but not limited to alleged mismanagement of N32 billion SURE-P fund; N78 million state money allegedly spent on the personal website of a former APC governor, who is also accused of inflating a N2.1 billion contract for the construction of pedestrian bridges, N25 billion for 1.36 kilometres link bridge, $200 million World Bank education fund while leaving behind N500 billion debt arising from alleged reckless spending?

“Why has the Federal Government maintained a sealed lips on charges of looting, diversion of state funds as well as the embarrassing accusations of stashing away of billion of naira state funds in foreign banks by a former APC governor of a South-South state?

“What about the reprehensible pillaging of state treasury by the last APC administration in a prominent North-West state, including the alleged mismanagement of N10 billion belonging to pensioners, which that government has failed to account for?

“What is the Federal Government’s stance on yet another prominent APC governor in North-West who, as a former minister, was indicted by the Senate for corrupt practices and embezzlement of over N32 billion proceed from the sale of government property, for which he was disgracefully declared unfit to hold public office by the highest lawmaking body in the land?

“We, therefore, challenge the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration to show integrity and commitment in the fight against corruption by first cleaning its house and coming out clear on the numerous sleazes going on presently under its watch.”

10 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    All of a sudden Metuh can now identify corrupt practice and abuse of office why didn’t he instil discipline in his party that is well known for these things he talks about everyday now? Is it because when you are eating you don’t talk?
    Metuh spare your energy and rebuild your party else you will wake up one day and there will be no PDP

  • Author’s gravatar

    CHECK THIS OUT
    A few days before the end of his tenure, former President Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Bello Adoke, connived to award more than $3 billion in crude oil to a Chinese oil company linked to a controversial businessman, Emeka Offor, SaharaReporters has reliably learned.Former AGF Mohammed Bello Adoke

    The highly questionable deal was consummated through a judgment handed down by a High Court judge who was also in on the deal, according to a source close to the deal.

    In December 2014, Addax Petroleum Development (Nigeria) Limited and Addax Petroleum Exploration (Nigeria) Limited, sued the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) seeking a huge financial award in what the company described as miscalculation of oil royalty and taxes, and breach of their 1998 “production sharing” contract with the NNPC in respect of certain oil fields.

    The contract covered oil-prospecting licenses (OPL) 98/118 (now Oil Mining Leases 123, 124, 136 and 137).

    In an extensive interview with our correspondent, the source claimed that Addax’s lawsuit was at the urging of Mr. Adoke, who should have been protecting the Nigerian public’s interest.

    In a letter dated April 2, 2015, Mr. Adoke proposed that President Jonathan approve an out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit, tagged FJC/ABJ/CS/1099/2014 and filed on December 23, 2014. In the letter to President Jonathan, the then Attorney General and Minister of Justice also indicated that he was attaching a letter dated the same day from the legal department of the NNPC.

    Mr. Adoke’s letter was fast-tracked in a manner that two legal authorities separately described as “highly unusual” and “unseemly.” On May 25, a mere four days before the end of President Jonathan’s tenure, a Federal High Court judge in Abuja had concluded the terms of the out-of-court settlement. The judge’s “judgment order” excluded the office of the AGF because Mr. Adoke did not send any lawyers to represent the government at the final judgment.

    “It’s highly curious that the ‘judgment order” did not list the AGF’s office as a defendant in the lawsuit. Yet, the AGF [Adoke] was the person generating a legal memo to the president [Jonathan] for an out-of-court settlement,” said an Abuja-based lawyer after reviewing the case.

    Nonetheless, the judge read out the terms of the agreement and gave an order sealing it, but his judgment order did not include the hidden cost of the judgment.

    This act of judicial concealment has baffled the lawyers who looked at the document. SaharaReporters obtained a copy of the hidden terms of agreement that puts the total value of NNPC’s indebtedness to Addax at more than $3 billion—specifically, a whopping $3,491,588,729.64. The judgment debt would be paid to Addax via crude oil lifting that could last for numerous years, an NNPC source disclosed.

    Addax Petroleum has claimed that a letter signed by Funsho Kupolokun, who was adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Petroleum, gave the company the right to a production-sharing contract relating to the oil fields named in their original lawsuit.

    Addax also claimed that, because of that letter from the presidential adviser, his company spent about $3 billion on the development of the oil fields.

    One of the lawyers who reviewed the case for SaharaReporters wondered why it took Addax no earlier than 2014 before they sued the Federal Government for the alleged breach of contract.

    Contacted by SaharaReporters to disclose Mr. Offor’s full involvement in the judgement scam, his representatives expressed preference for communication by email.

    Hours after we complied, Edwin Ndukwe of the Communications Department of Offor’s Chrome Group sent a response in which he denied that Mr. Offor was the ‘outlet’ through which Addax facilitated the settlement.

    “Sir Emeka had absolutely no hand or control in the proceedings of the court, which led to the outcome you inferred,” he said. “He is not a shareholder and he did not enter into any agreement to influence or sponsor the outcome of the court’s decision. Addax Petroleum is gigantic enough to weigh in by itself on any judicial matters bothering on their business conduct in Nigeria.”

    He asserted that the Addax/Kaztec business to business relationship began in 2010 when Kaztec was awarded the TB 1921 contract for the installation of subsea pipeline and topsides in OML 123.

    “Since then, the relationship grew between the two as evident in the project being duly completed. Kaztec is a wholly 100% owned indigenous EPIC service provider in the oil & gas industry. It has performed very well over the years and have received numerous commendations for their technical competence and their ability to deliver on projects timeously and at significantly reduced cost from not just Addax but other firms.”

    We also reached out to NNPC spokesperson, Ohi Alegebe to ask how the NNPC intends to pay the debt as stipulated in the final judgement. He said he needed to reach the Legal Department of the NNPC to find out the details, but did not get back to us at the time of publishing this story.

    For their part, Addax offices in Abuja told our reporters that all of the company communication personnel were tied up in a training which involved the Managing Director, Mr. Cor Zegelaar, and cannot respond to our inquiries until next week.

    In a recent interview with Premium Times, former President Obasanjo openly accused Mr. Offor of scamming Nigeria out of billions of dollars in the so-called turn-around maintenance of refineries, calling him an ‘amateur’ who knew nothing about maintaining a refinery. He stated that Mr. Offor had infiltrated the police and anti-corruption agencies and NNPC officials to facilitate his scams.

    “[We met] refineries that were not working, refineries that were given to an amateur for repairs, for maintenance, what they call turn-around maintenance, to the company of Emeka Offor – Chrome Group,” he said of his government. “Where has Emeka Offor maintained refineries before? Where has he? That’s what we met. So the refineries were not working.”

    Reminded by his interviewers that despite that discovery he did not recover any money from Mr. Offor, the former President replied: “What can you recover? A man ‎who was paid upfront? He had people. He got some police…people were there. And like they have said to you now, look, if it works for a week, that’s all you get. And Emeka Offor, after I left he became friends with every government that has come. Now he’s not only into refinery and oil and all that, he’s now also in energy!”

  • Author’s gravatar

    Gullible Nigerians were sold the tale of how broke Buhari was that he has to borrow money to buy his nomination form. The last time I checked,Buhari still collects ‘settlements’ from Chevron and other foreign oil companies over 30 years after leaving power as head of state,yet he never stated that. The fact that that so called assets Buhari declared publicly recently remained silent on the amount and value of shares he has in the companies he listed is an indication that Buhari is corrupt.

  • Author’s gravatar

    “How did you get the billions you used to sponsor my election?”
    Any day Buhari asks that question in public or private then note that the anti corruption war has started. Run if you are corrupt.
    For now all you are hearing from the president and his supporters is noisy propaganda of those who have just discovered that life in opposition is easier than being in power. All you need to do to be great as opposition element is simply to criticize and abuse as much as possible but as a ruling party you have to build something and wait to be criticized after suffering to build.
    I feel sorry for my APC friends because of the situation they now find themselves. Imagine reading body language as achievement after 3 months. Body language is now an achievement to report when there is no tangible achievement to report.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Honesty I am ashamed that my country is being ruled by a party that cannot distinguish between propaganda and actual governance. Unbelievably the above statement was released by our President’s media aide and publicity head of APC. Can you believe that?
    Let me ask questions and you follow to understand my anger.
    1. If a government in power is aware of such monumental fraud what is the government doing to reverse the situation? Is the media now a law court?
    2. Did anyone stop APC and President Buhari from prosecuting whoever is involved?
    3. How many people are currently in jail or undergoing trial for allegedly looting that massive amount? Or are the courts, ICPC and EFCC on recess?
    4. How can a ruling party with custody of the instruments of state be engaged in media trial of citizens as against court trial? Or are they afraid of proving their allagations? The law says he who alleges must prove. Why does APC enjoy alleging without proving?
    5. A government that just appointed new managers for NNPC is telling us there are withheld funds at NNPC that they have not recovered? Who is in jail or on trial among the former managers of NNPC? Or are they untouchable because they used part of the money to fund APC’s campaign like some Governors?
    6. If you have unaccounted $2.1b from the excess crude account are you saying all the funds in the account have been accounted for apart from $2.1b? If yes, how did you arrive at that amount because your chieftains previously claimed over $20b were unaccounted for. Is this not another outlandish claim?
    7. You claimed through Governor Adam Oshiomole that an unnamed minister stole $6b and now you are saying “some ministers” stole $6b. What are we to believe? When will you name these ministers and prosecute them if you are sure of your facts? Or are you engaging in tumbotumbo governance?
    8. DPR is an agency of the state. If they “withheld” money due to the state is that stealing? Why not simply ask them to release it to the federation account and then share it as prescribed by law?
    9. We are still losing crude oil under APC’s Buhari. Who is responsible for that? Can Nigerians reasonably say Buhari is stealing our oil?
    10. If rice waivers were given to a certain importer known to APC why is he not in jail or made to repay the amount since you now believe giving of waivers by a government is illegal? Or is it because of the person involved? Name him and then tell us that going forward the government has abolished waivers or SHUT UP for good. Obviously you don’t know that a dully signed waiver is valid and does not constitute stealing. Certificateless governance in action!!!
    11. What do you mean by “13 billion US dollars in NLNG dividends mostly unaccounted for”? How much is accounted for and how much is unaccounted for? Can’t you punch calculators or hire those who can? And if you are not certain why make the allegation to hoodwink gullible Nigerians?
    12. If there is money that is unaccounted for at NDDC why did you celebrate the joining of APC by the former MD of NDDC? Are you shopping for expert looters to add to those already in your party? Arrest the man and the executives of NDDC if you are a serious government.
    13. If you are sure $15m was paid to the government of South Africa and they seized it how does that constitute stealing or looting? Are you not the successor government that should recover it with interest? What have you done to recover the money? You inherited assets from Jonathan’s regime and if this is a liability inherited from same regime why are you whining? Will you surrender the assets inherited from Jonathan or is it he stopping you from recovering the money from South Africa? Yeyerism at work.

    Stop giving us excuses why you cannot lead Nigeria to CHANGE or prosperity.

    STOP TREATING NIGERIANS AS BRAINLESS PEOPLE.

  • Author’s gravatar

    There’s a popular saying that said,show me your friends and let me tell whom you are. From the calibre of corrupt people around Buhari,it’s very difficult to say Buhari is an honest man as touted. Prof Osinbajo and Buhari have no strong moral values that was why they are comfortable been promoted by corrupt people. Their desperation to ride to power on finances from questionable sources says it all. Any promise of anti-corruption fight from Buhari is a mirage because his sponsors will threaten to expose him if he dares touch them.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Buhari is shielding APC members from corruption. There have been enough evidence in the public domain to charged Babatunde Fashola,Rotimi Amaechi,Rabiu Kwankwaso and several other APC members to court on massive corruption but Buhari has looked the other way all because these people stole their state’s resources to finance his elections. Nigerians are in trouble,they voted for FAKE CHANGE. They voted wolves in sheep clothing

  • Author’s gravatar

    What the noise made by the PDP spokesman says is that “as a party the PDP shielded her own from investigations. Perhaps that explains why former president Jonathan decried that “there is no corruption in Nigeria, it is just ‘petty theft’ that is reported as corruption'”. Now we know and understand that but come to think of it has the president got any powers to investigate state executives? That is a function of the state governors not the president’s please. Just return the treasury loot quietly and then your pleas may be considered but no more plea_bargains with treasury looters, no. Change has taken over the reins and change it will be for any looter to Jail.