Posted on 09/17/2006 6:05:10 AM PDT by Libloather
Nigeria: Presidency - Obasanjo Did Not Authorise Diversion of Funds
This Day (Lagos)
Posted to the web September 15, 2006
Kola Ologbondiyan
Lagos
The Presidency yesterday reacted to Vice President Atiku Abubakar's claim that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as organisations where President Olusegun Obasanjo has interests benefited from the controversial MOFAS Account at the Abuja branch of defunct Trans International Bank (TIB).
Besides, it said, the President did not authorise diversion of public funds to any individual or organisation.
"Obasanjo has never directed or forced any individual or organization to make donations to any of the many associations and non-profit-making causes, which he supports, including the National Mosque and the National Christian Centre in Abuja.
"Neither has he ever sanctioned the diversion of public funds to any political party," it said in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media), Mrs. Oluremi Oyo.
The Presidency accused the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation of wilfully trying to becloud the main issue of indictment of the Vice President by attempting to equate or confuse public funds held by the Petroleum Technology Devel-opment Fund (PTDF) with the MOFAS Account owned by an individual, Otunba Oyewole Fasawe.
"It is most unfortunate indeed that the Vice President and his cronies and rented voices have chosen not to heed the wise counsel of those who have pointed out that making false and baseless allegations against others is no defence for those against whom damning evidence of wrongdoing has been established," it said.
But the Atiku campaign in a reaction by its Media Consultant, Mallam Garba Shehu, said it was the President that was trying to blunt the substantive issues, contending that there was no diversion of public funds held at the Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) since the total deposits had been returned to the Federal Government with interests. It also declared that contrary to the claim of the President that he ordered a presidential inquisition into the PTDF deposits based on the promptings of US Congressman, Williams Jefferson's letter, his attention to the sour business deal between Jefferson and Fasawe was allegedly thrown up by the latter's petition to him and US President George Bush. The campaign described as "noteworthy" the fact that Obasanjo received Jefferson's letter in June 2004 but did not deem it fit to cause the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the allegations until the death of Third Term agenda last May 2006.
But the Presidency insisted that the Atiku campaign only wanted "to divert public attention from the serious matter of the Vice President's indictment for diversion of public funds, fraud and abuse of office.
It said: "It cannot possibly be President Obasanjo's responsibility to account for any presents, which others voluntarily choose to give his relations, aides or associates. We, therefore, fail to see the point, in relation to the President and the subsisting indictment against the Vice President, of yesterday's statement by the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, which variously alleged that payments were made by Fasawe's company, MOFAS, to the PDP, the African Leadership Forum, the Ibogun Olaogun Development Assoc-iation and others."
Continuing, it asserted: "Atiku Campaign is willfully trying to becloud the main issues of his indictment by attempting, in its latest statement, to equate or confuse public funds held by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) with the MOFAS account owned by Otunba Fasawe.
"PTDF must also not be confused with the Marine Float Account, which is owned and controlled by the Vice President since 1992, and which has received sundry donations.
The Presidency said while there was glaring evidence of direct payments to the Vice President and his personal assistant from a primary beneficiary of the illegal diversion of PTDF funds, none of the photocopies of cheques allegedly issued maliciously to the press yesterday by the Atiku campaign showed any such payment to the President.
It stated: "The effort should, therefore, be dismissed as a pitiful attempt to tar the President with the same brush as the Vice President has wilfully and consciously tarred himself.," submitted. For the Vice President's organisation, however, the Presidency was being clever with the truth as it argued that Obasanjo's narration of the sequence of events in respect of Jefferson's letter, as narrated in the his letter to the Senate "is typically, false."
The Vice President's team claimed that a senior official of his bank, TIB, invited Fasawe to meet certain investors at the 2003 Sullivan Economic Summit in Abuja, who were seeking a Nigerian collaborator to bring a new American communication technology to Nigeria.
It said: "Fasawe was thereafter introduced to U.S. Congressman, William Jefferson, who promised to facilitate the introduction of the American telecommunication technology to Nigeria.
"On the strength of assurances by the congressman, who was Chairman of the American House Sub-Committee on Nigeria, Fasawe applied for a loan facility from TIB, whose official alerted him of the investment opportunity." Continuing, it said: "Fasawe thereafter transferred $6.7 million to iGate, the company introduced by Congressman Jefferson by January 2003.
It said Fasawe was unsuccessful in his bid to regain his funds.
According to Atiku campaign, "There is absolutely no relationship between withdrawals from the MOFAS Account in TIB and the PTDF deposits," adding "the EEFC has merely assembled unrelated matters to create a false, predetermined and political end. "
It is difficult not to feel the intense pressure around Vice President Atiku Abubakar at the moment. In truth, it is an intensely horrible season, a deviation from the plot of a movie, he scripted to have a happy ending but is running a different direction. That happy ending, which Atiku saw when he and the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) tapped President Olusegun Obasanjo to run the election in 1999, was his ascendancy to the Presidency. It may still happen, but that has become a harder job, by force of his present debacle - a double indictment by an administrative panel-and the EFCC.
It is easy to stand aloof and enjoy the drama. As power play, if it is, it is the classic kind, which journalism with its morbid indifference, is trained to relish. But there is no taste to this morbid palate. All the twists in this story, are to say the least, hallmarks of power's uncertain nature. However, the greater pathos in this drama, melt the morbidity of journalism. At the centre of this struggle is Nigeria's political future. More profoundly, the ideological character of this struggle, advises a more reasoned and sophisticated reaction beyond the cheap take of political vendetta. This, in all its ramifications, ought to be located more prominently in the realm of questions of public morality.
So, what is going on? A lot of people do not know. But they find comfort in the more easier tale of President Obasanjo's plot to torpedo the Presidential project of Vice President Abubakar. That has been fed in no small measure by the Atiku camp. It is possible that President Obasanjo may, for reasons, of personal ethics, pedigree or political expediency, consider Atiku an unworthy successor. That, we must concede, he is entitled to. But do we now say that facts of what is considered Obasanjo's hidden plot against Atiku obviate the weighty issues raised by the indictments by the EFCC and the panel? In this season, no one will say yes to that question. More profoundly, it should not happen on the watch of a government which has for seven years, raised the fight against corruption in all its ramifications, as article of faith.
This preliminary comment is very helpful in two ways. It helps us to focus on what should be the crux of the discourse on that matter. Secondly, it warns of the risk we may inflict on public morality if for political correctness, we fail to deal with this matter for what it is-question of public morality.
From facts already established, nobody had an idea that the Petroleum Technology Development Trust Fund (PTDF) had become a mountain of scam until May 28, 2004. Not even the President, as facts show, had an idea a public trust which was designed to impact positively on the oil industry, had been converted to a cash cow for some people, until that fortuitous letter from Congressman Williams J. Jefferson to President Olusegun Obasanjo. Jefferson, who had been a very prominent face in the corridors of power in Nigeria for private gain since the era of dictatorship, was invited into a matter, concerning his friend, Mr. Vernon J. Jackson, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of i-Gate. i-Gate, the US based company and NDTV, led by Otunba Johnson Fashawe were having a disagreement over a deal that was going sour.
Believing that Fashawe, had given bad testimonials to i-Gate around the Presidency, Vernon Jordan tapped William Jefferson to intervene on his behalf and put in a good word. Before then, Jefferson as he admitted in that letter was to lead the management of i-Gate to Nigeria, but for the turn of events, decided to call it off and instead wrote a letter to the President. That letter turned out to be a spark that ignited an explosion that laid bare the stench inside the PTDF. None is sure now that Jefferson would have written that letter, if he knew that its consequences would be so horrible, to include, among other things a spotlight on his own ethics and integrity as a legislator in the United States.
Now to the letter. After dispelling suspected allegations against i-Gate, which Jefferson, thought was responsible for i-Gate's suspected bad fortune in the deal, the Congressman, went on to raise certain fears. The first, he wrote was that i-Gate was being asked to pay $1million kickback on a payment of $6.5million. The second issue, Jefferson raised was that NDTV had told i-Gate that it expected to pay certain monies from expected deposits from the PTDF. Lastly, Jefferson said, i-Gate was being asked to contribute funds to the campaigns to make Atiku Abubakar President in 2007. Coming from the United States, where campaign contributions by individuals and corporate organizations are highly regulated, Jefferson must have thought there was something brazen and at the same time under-hand about that request. Based on these, he asked the President to intervene.
Apparently startled by this letter, and revelation, President Obasanjo on, June 9, 2004 replied Jefferson, thanking him for his information. He assured him that the appropriate authorities would investigate his allegations. Promptly and appropriately, he directed the police to investigate the PTDF and report. It turned out that the PTDF was a white sepulchre, and so, the police did not have to work hard as the walls hiding the massive fraud and abuse of office in the organization stood like a token in a Polynesian Forest.
To pave the way for deeper investigation, the Presidency eased off, Alhaji Hamisu Mairago, the reckless and profligate executive secretary of the fund. The, boy of privilege, who became a director of lands in Kaduna State almost two years after his NYSC, it turned out had presided over a complex artery of fraud which took money from the public till and channeled to all sorts of personal interests.
While this was going on, Jefferson was entangled in a mess in the United States. That matter, which involved allegations that Jefferson had been given some bribe to pass on to Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Eventually, this led to a raid on the residence of Vice President Abubakar in Maryland, the home and office of Congressman Jefferson. In the raid on Jefferson's home, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) discovered thousands of dollars hidden in a refrigerator. The FBI wanted to establish clearly, whether Congressman Jefferson was using his office to further his business interests and therefore wrote to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It wanted the EFCC to investigate and establish the business links of Congressman Jefferson in Nigeria. Aware that Jefferson had already written a letter on the PTDF to the President, the EFCC turned to PTDF and hit upon a massive network of movement of money, from the public till to further private business interests. The EFCC report and that of the Administrative Panel that further indicted the Vice President and a few others is before the National Assembly.
As is usual, the real issues in this case is being entangled with great effort, in politics. Forget that the relationship between President Obasanjo and his deputy had soured over the years, it will be tragic to reduce this matter to the differences between the two. The reason is that it does not appear that it was Obasanjo who arranged the intricate web of patronage and sometimes outright fraud which wound their way up to the oak tables of very powerful people. Except there is a clear revelation of an obvious link between Obasanjo and Jefferson, in which the President planted him as a mole in the midst of Fashawe, Atiku, and by a long short Mike Adenuga and Ibrahim Babangida. Regardless of what partisans say on both sides, it is clear that Obasanjo and the security agencies may only have learnt of underhand dealings in PTDF because the parties disagreed and petitioned him as a way of gaining advantage over the other. Which means that if they had not disagreed, or disagreed and kept quiet, it would have been business as usual.
In this issue, a lot of people, especially from the Atiku corner disappoint us by holding up insinuations of political vendetta as their only defence. Again, not withstanding whatever beef there had been between Obasanjo and Atiku, do we say that the Federal Government should have ignored the sound of Jefferson's whistle? What would the impression had, been? Did they truly expected that whoever is President should have just said thank you to Jefferson and thrashed the letter? Are they saying that it was improper to allow the investigations since Vice President Atiku, former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida and other powerful people are involved? By the way they have framed the responses, it is being made to seem that we should ignore the corruption issues which relate to the matter.
Minders of Vice President Atiku have been largely unhelpful to his case. As Yusuph Olaniyou argued a few days ago, it is hard for the Vice President to now repudiate the report of the administrative panel after willingly appearing and giving evidence before it. Arguments of denial of fair hearing will seem a clear afterthought. And it is regrettable that they let the Vice President with such spoken pedigree and political sagacity will fully stroll into this kind of bind. His corner will really have to work very hard to grab the ear and eventually the minds of Nigerians in this matter for the reason given above. Again, the strategy of directing every finger pointed at the Atiku quarter to other persons is counter-productive. There are issues of abuse of office and public morality raised in the reports. Fact to establish is: did persons close to the Vice President with his approval, receive public funds which they put into private business in any form whether at NDTV, Conoil, or Globacom? If this is the case, this amounts to abuse of office. If it is not, the focus should be to show that at no time were public funds diverted to the benefit of NDTV or others, in any form.
The matter as we know is before the National Assembly. It is possible that the Vice President may well receive a last gap reprieve. But his corner has to re-engineer to convince the National Assembly that affairs of PTDF has not been run in a way that contravened laws of the land. The point is that insinuations of political vendetta will not be helpful in the committee rooms of the Senate's Judiciary Committee where the hearings are certain to hold. Everybody in political office has enemies. It is a measure of one's political sagacity to act in such a way not to give your enemies arsenal to fight you. If the PTDF has been run in this way, by people who are close to the Vice President or supervised by him, it is futile to blame his enemies for trying to exploit his horrible season to their advantage. The task now is to convince the legislature that no wrongdoing has taken place at PTDF. So far what supporters of the Vice President talk about is not his innocence. All they have told us so far is that he is not the only one that benefited from the funds of the PTDF. This sort of defence is an admission of guilt which will not help before the National Assembly Committee.
On a more personal level, it would appear that Atiku would be the loser regardless of how this ends. If the two camps step up their mudslinging, the loser will not certainly be a President who has almost completed a second term in office and is on his way home. Rather, it is his deputy who aspires to replace him but has fallen on the ill-luck of having to answer questions about his integrity. It is amazing how the wheel of power turns. All told, this is not Atiku's finest hour.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200609150573.html
All of Nigeria understands perfectly well what "dash me" means. It is the extra you must pay under-the-table to any govt official who stands between you and a govt service to which you entitled for a MODEST official fee or for free.
Nigeria is totally corrupt in this way, and not just to its own citizens....."dash me" applies to local and foreign businesses, too.
Congressman Jefferson is probably wishing that he hadn't replied to that e-mail offer from the Minister of Pretroleum's long lost nephew.
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