And the man speaks…
On the Withdrawal of Money Purported to Have Been Wrongly
Credited to My Account by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and My Allegedly
Being Wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC)
Commission (EFCC)
My attention has been drawn to the falsehood being
circulatedon some social and print media platforms with my above photograph
claiming that I am wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) for withdrawing N45 million purported to have been wrongly credited to
my account by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
For the avoidance of doubt,let me state categorically that
the deposit was not made in error.
The said amount was credited to my
account with Diamond Bank Plc in 2012 for a contract I have with the Ministry
of Petroleum Resources for the lease of three (3) helicopters from Tunisia for
the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
The helicopters were former President Umaru Musa Yar’Aduas
idea to prevent the DPR from hiring helicopters from the International Oil
Companies (IOCs)they were supposed to police.
The N45 million was part payment of the mobilisation for
the contract. The full mobilization is N110 million, and a total of N90 million
has been paid by the ministry as mobilisation.
However,some staff of the CBN and the Ministry of
Petroleum Resources wanted me to launder the money and share it with them
without supplying the helicopters for the stipulated service but I refused,
insisting that it was against my principles. Our nation will continue to crawl
behind other nations of the world if we all continue to acquiesce to such
corrupt propositions and compromise the integrity of such or any contracts.
I am ready to fight whoever is behind these false
publications because I have God behind me and no one can defeat me in such a
just cause no matter how highly placed. The money was used to take the officers
of the DPR and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources on an inspection visit to
Tunisia.
Officials of the Civil Aviation authorities also travelled
for the inspection of the helicopters with officers of Aero Contractors who
were to operate the helicopters. Also, officials and crew of the Tunisian
company, Tunisiavia, visited Nigeria to inspect the facilities here in Nigeria
where the helicopters will operate.
The N45m was used to finance all these inspections and the
expenses were foreign exchange dominated. At the end of the successful
inspection, I was paid N45m and a letter to the effect that we successfully
completed the first phase of the contract was sent to Fidelity Bank Plc.
In another development, I reported some staff of DPR for
asking me for bribe with evidence and EFCC and ICPC took no action. At the end
of these inspections, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was supposed to pay
N370m for the helicopters to be ferried to Nigeria in accordance with the terms
of the contract. At this stage they refused to make the payment, hence the
current stalemate.
Since this matter is in the Federal High court and
International court of arbitration for adjudication, I prefer not to give
further details at present beyond what is necessary in response to the current
effort to slander me with such false publications.
I am not on the run from the EFCC because they know my office in
Abuja and my residence. I have no need to run from anybody but no one can
intimidate me. The rule of law must be followed at all times. The truth must
prevail over lies. I sacrificed my life for 30 years in the military for this
nation and cannot at this stage change my habits at 61.
Jerry Ogbonna
Jerry Ogbonna
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