Olusegun Obasanjo stole 2.4 trillion Naira, says CNPP December 25, 2007 | posted by Mobolaji Aluko (Archives)

 

December 25, 2007

 

Parties petition EFCC to probe Obasanjo

We waited patiently for over six months, the little we observed were reactions to Wilbros scam in Texas, Metropolitan Police find in United Kingdom, Siemens scandal in Germany and Iyabo-gate in Paris; none emanated from Nigeria, whilst Mr. President is sitting on top of files of monumental corruption.

CNPP states its case against ex-president.

 

From Kamarudeen Ogundele,

Abuja

Some of the allegations

•Unilateral withdrawals from Federation and NNPC accounts

•Keeping record of oil sales secret

•Illegally presiding over Oil ministry

•Sale of refineries to cronies as scraps

•Illegal sales of NITEL, Egbin

•Underhand deals in the privatisation of ALSCON, Ajaokuta Steel, Hilton Hotel, NICON Insurance

•Contract awards for Niger Delta Integrated Power Projects and Equipment of University Teaching Hospitals by presidential fiat

•Sale of govt houses for peanuts

OPPOSITION parties yesterday called for former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s trial over alleged abuse of public office and illegal acquisition of wealth, among other allegations.

The Nation

reported exclusively yesterday that the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) would submit a petition to the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), calling for Obasanjo’s prosecution.

The parties criticised President Umaru Yar’Adua for being "lukewarm, reticent and reactive; rather than proactive in favour of the war against corruption."

CNPP noted that there was nothing suggesting that the President is fighting corruption with deserved attention.

"We waited patiently for over six months, the little we observed were reactions to Wilbros scam in Texas, Metropolitan Police find in United Kingdom, Siemens scandal in Germany and Iyabo-gate in Paris; none emanated from Nigeria, whilst Mr. President is sitting on top of files of monumental corruption," the CNPP said.

In a petition dated December 10, submitted yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, to the EFCC, the CNPP asked the anti-graft body to investigate and prosecute Obasanjo for abuse of public office, earning wealth illegally and violation of laws governing government activities.

It also accused Obasanjo of converting state-owned enterprises and properties into private ownership.

The group alleged that Obasanjo was involved in oil deals, privatisation of state-owned enterprises.

It claimed that contrary to the 1999 Constitution, Obasanjo illegally appointed himself as Petroleum Resources Minister and his activities in the oil industry were shrouded in secrecy.

"He never rendered proper accounts of the oil revenue to relevant agencies like the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). It is also on record that neither the Federal Executive Council nor National Assembly ever presented memoranda or budget of the oil industry," CNPP said.

The group said Obasanjo and his cronies had a field day with crude oil sales which it described as the nation’s cash cow.

"As petroleum minister, the transaction detail was only between himself and the managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

"Our investigation shows that between 2000 and 2006, Nigeria lost over $130 billion unaccounted revenue. A thorough investigation will crack the secrecy and reveal the wanton billions of dollars that had vanished from the sales book," it said.

Lamenting the state of the refineries, CNPP alleged that for "condoning the mega-scandal in the rehabilitation of the refineries, retaining incompetent contractors without sanction and benefiting from petroleum products importation, "Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has questions to answer for crimes against Nigeria".

CNPP alleged that for eight years, Obasanjo unilaterally withdrew over N1 trillion from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Federation accounts.

"This clearly shows that the cost of corruption under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo reached earthshaking proportion for an arm of government against its principal," the group alleged.

In another petition also submitted to EFCC, CNPP asked the commission to investigate "the monumental fraud perpetrated by Prof Maurice Iwu, the Chairman of the INEC, in the award of contracts.

The CNPP urged EFCC to investigate and prosecute the Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Adamu Waziri, for allegedly awarding contracts without following due process while in office as Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).

The contracts, it said, were never advertised or competitively bid for.

CNPP accused Iwu of awarding a contract for the printing of ballot papers for the presidential, National Assembly, governorship and House of Assembly elections, to the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC), Abuja, at N6, 580,200,000.00 when it had no facilities to execute the contract.

The said contract, CNPP alleged, was re-awarded to some British and South African firms at a much higher cost.

CNPP said: "INEC led Nigerians to believe that the most sophisticated and modern communication equipment were required to facilitate the conduct of the elections and transmission of results."

According to the coalition, a contract of over N16 billion was appropriated and contracted for communications projects, which include: Leased Global Networks- N4,000,000,000.00, Authenticated/Accreditation Device-N9,000,000,000.00, Collation Machines-N2,470,000,000.00, Satellites Networks/IMMARSAT M4-N150, 000,000.00 and VSAT Equipment-N410, 000,000.00.

"To our consternation not only did the contractors default in execution of the project, indeed none was utilised for the conduct of the elections and up till date no refund of the said sum has been made to the coffers of the Federal Government.

Besides, it accused INEC of awarding a contract of N222 million for the activation of existing VHF and HF Radios in the states to a favoured contractor who later defaulted as the Radios were not activated.

"The said N222 million," CNPP said: "has not been refunded."

On Voters Registration, CNPP claimed INEC awarded a contract for the supply 33,000 units of Direct Data Capture Machine worth N4,954,300,000.00.

 

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Obasanjo stole 2.4 trillion Naira, says CNPP

While the controversial N3.5 billion contract scam involving Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello is still yawning for investigation and prosecution, a fresh allegation against her father, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, has surfaced in which he is accused of robbing the country of over $900 billion and N1.4 trillion.

This is contained in a petition by the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the former president.

Anchoring its request for EFCC’s investigation and prosecution of Obasanjo on section 15(5) of the 1999 constitution which stipulates that the state shall abolish corrupt practices and abuse of office, CNPP alleged in its petition that Obasanjo's clan of "lucrative holdings" runs into billions of dollars and trillions of naira.

The group, made up of opposition political parties in the country, stated that Obasanjo illegally appointed himself minister of petroleum resources contrary to section 147 of the constitution, knowing full well that the oil sector was the cash cow where he and his cronies could have a field day.

"As petroleum minister, the transaction detail was only between himself and the managing director of NNPC. Our investigation shows that between 2000 and 2006, Nigeria lost over $130 billion unaccounted revenue.

"A thorough investigation would crack the secrecy and reveal the wanton billion of dollars that had vanished from the sales books," the petition reads.

CNPP further alleged that the former president collaborated with two companies employed to handle the four oil refineries in the country to swindle over $1 billion meant for the refineries’ rehabilitation.

"The rehabilitation failed and Nigeria was criminally left at the mercy of international oil market fluctuation as importation of petroleum products became subject of volatility of the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar and prices of oil at world market.

"On this score, we have since confirmed that more than $700 million were misappropriated to enrich Chief Obasanjo and his cronies and to fund his political party, the PDP," it noted.

The CNPP further stated that in spite of the fact that the companies’ contracts were controversial because they lacked record of specialisation in refinery rehabilitation, Obasanjo "turned a blind eye to the scandal" and the result was that in the twilight of his regime, he sold the refineries to his cronies as scraps.

"In the case of Kaduna refinery, he spent over $200 million to repair it and auctioned it at $106 million.

"Mr Chairman, these monies can easily be located in banks, where Chief Obasanjo used proxies and fanthom names to acquire dominant shares."

While urging the anti-corruption agency to "exhume the rot in the oil industry," CNPP asked the commission’s chairman, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, to "study the external firms that audited the account of the NNPC."

It further claimed that Obasanjo withdrew over N1 trillion "unauthorised and unappropriated by the National Assembly from the NNPC account and the federation account," adding that it regarded those withdrawals as gross economic and financial crime.

"The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission severally fought to stem the tide of the withdrawals scourge; as a last resort it had no alternative but to sue the executive.

"This clearly shows that the cost of corruption under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo reached earth-shaking proportions for an arm of government to resort to court process against its principal.

"On account of this face-off, Obasanjo wrote to the Senate requesting for the dismissal of the chairman of RMAFC, Alhaji Hamman Tukur, a dubious requests that was turned down."

The CNPP further alleged that Obasanjo, in the name of privatisation, sold NITEL to the Investors International Limited (IIL) of London, a company owned by his cronies. But the deal failed because the company was unable to pay 51 per cent shares it bidded to BPE, it said.

"The aftermath of the IIL fiasco was another bizarre fiasco when BPE nominated Dutch company with headquarters at a defunct church house called Pentascope. Pentascope, instead of diligently managing NITEL, reaped of its revenue reserve. In the event NITEL lost N51 billion."

CNPP also tasked the anti-graft commission to go deeper "to not only recover the price differential and the $160 million paid for dredging Imo River, but possibly revoke the transaction."

It stated that a total of $7.7 billion was fleeced off to build substations, transmission lines, "and gas pipelines have not taken off, while payment has been made," adding that the N27 billion medical equipment supply was "over-invoiced and only few of the universities listed to benefit have their equipment installed. We strongly suspect fraud."

The CNPP finally noted that Obasanjo’s abuse of power and corrupt enrichment were "never exposed in any transaction more than in the acquisition of 200 million shares in Transcorp Plc; for we are aware that out of prison in 1998, the man was going by his own account worth less than 20,000 naira in cash."

The group then appealed to EFCC not to shirk its mandate as "failure to investigate and prosecute Obasanjo and his cronies and possibly confiscate their illegally acquired properties would send wrong signals and endorse wanton stealing of public assets.

"We shall furnish information and documents as we progress in the investigation and prosecution."

The petition was signed by Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa for PRP, Chief AC Nwodo for PAC, Malam Mani Ibrahim for ADC, Malam Yunusa S. Tak, William Eziguni and Osita Okechukwu for CNPP.

Meanwhile, in a press statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Osita Okechukwu, CNPP accused President Umaru Yar’Adua of complacency towards the war against corruption.

It stated: "Most importantly, we took into cognisance of the fact that President Umaru Yar'Adua is lukewarm, reticent and reactive, rather than proactive in favour of war against corruption.

"We waited patiently for over six months; the little we observed was reactions to Wilbros scam in Texas, Metropolitan Police found in United Kingdom, Siemens scandal in Germany and Iyabo-gate in Paris.

"None emanated from Nigeria, whilst Mr President is sitting on top of files of monumental corruption."