How Atiku looted PTDF – Presidency
How Atiku looted PTDF – Presidency
The Presidency on Tuesday said it had evidence that the Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, allegedly conspired with others to loot the Petroleum Technology Development Funds.
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Published: Wednesday, 13 Sep 2006
It also said that the scandal in the PTDF was blown open by the embattled US Congressman, William Jefferson.
It further explained that the controversial N100m, donated to the 2003 poll fund of the Obasanjo – Atiku Campaign Organisation by Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, was deposited into the vice-president’s account in 2001.
The Presidency’s reactions were contained in a statement in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the President, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo.
The statement gave graphic details of investigations into the alleged mismanagement of the PTDF by the vice-president, a former Executive Secretary of the PTDF, Hamisu Abubakar, and a friend of the VP, Otunba Reuben Fasawe.
The Presidency said the investigations were conducted from May 8, 2004 to September 5, 2006.
According to the statement, the probe by the Presidency followed a letter of complaint which Jefferson had written to President Olusegun Obasanjo over a $6.5m telecommunication deal between NDTV and iGate.
While the NDTV is owned by Fasawe, iGate (a US telecomms firm) belongs to Vernon Jackson, who was jailed on Friday for seven years over the same scandal.
An unnamed official of the NDTV had demanded for a $1m bribe, which prompted Jefferson to write the letter to the President.
The statement quoted Jefferson as saying, “One of the principals of NDTV demanded a kick-back of $1m of the $6.5 million. Additionally, Jackson reported to me that he was deeply troubled by comments made to him by the managing director of NDTV that the funds were delayed on the contract because they were expecting funds allegedly related to PTDF fixed deposits to pay for the rest of the project.
“Jackson was worried that this source of payment might be improper or perhaps even illegal. After hearing this from Jackson, I therefore refused to be of further help to NDTV to continue its contract with iGate as I did not want a smudge on my reputation, nor that of iGate or Jackson in dealings in Nigeria.
“A final concern that Jackson reported to me, unrelated to the contract violations, nonetheless disturbing, was that he feared he would become involved in Nigerian politics.
“This is because two of the principals of NDTV continued to press him to agree to have their partnership provide funds out of upcoming operations for the 2007 elections for the current vice- president of Nigeria to become President.
“At bottom, this is all there is to the matter – a business dispute that is left to be settled between the parties through good-faith negotiations – not through outrageous claims of wrongdoing.”
The Presidency said the President, in a letter of June 9, 2004, thanked Jefferson and ordered the immediate investigations into the PTDF activities.
The statement added that the President told Jefferson that he ”had taken immediate steps to ensure full investigations into PTDF activities in order to establish the veracity of the allegations made on the use of its resources to settle the obligations of the NDTV, a private company.”
The Presidency said preliminary investigations indicated that Jefferson was right about the PTDF.
It said that as a result of the preliminary findings, Alhaji Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar (a.k.a. Mirago), the PTDF’s executive secretary, was removed.
It added, “To get to the bottom of the matter, the President directed the police to continue the investigations. These are ongoing.
“By coincidence, Jefferson became entangled in another case, which involved the vice-president.
“The case was about allegations that Jefferson had asked and received bribes on behalf of the vice-president on a transaction involving the Nigeria Telecommunications Company Limited. That case led to the well-published raid on the US home of the VP.
“Because the matter involved a high-ranking US citizen, the FBI wrote to the EFCC to investigate the case and share information on the findings. Based on this, the EFCC took over the investigation of the PDTF.
“It is interesting to know that it was Jefferson, who has very obvious and deep business links with the VP and his associates, who blew the whistle that informed the investigation of the PTDF.
“After the investigations, a copy of the report was forwarded to the FBI and another to the President apparently because it was found out that the vice-president was directly involved in certain transactions and received cheques in his name. Funds from the PTDF have also been used to fund private projects of the VP.
“Taking great care not to be perceived as operating double standards on the matter of corruption, the President set up an administrative panel to study the EFCC report and advise the Federal Executive Council.
“The recourse to an administrative panel of inquiry was informed by the fact that government was so embarrassed that it could not trust any other mechanism to advise the findings of the EFCC. Again, the nature of the persons involved required that the report be treated with utmost confidentiality and secrecy.
“The panel‘s report, presented to the FEC, concluded that the VP abused his office, violated oath of office and the 1999 Constitution. Since the President has no powers to sanction his deputy, he decided to forward the report to the National Assembly for the information of all members.”
The Presidency traced the lodgement of the PTDF funds in ETB and TIB to 2003.
It also added a fresh dimension to the war of letters between the President and the VP by attaching photocopies of cheques to the statement.
It said, “Two deposits were made to the TIB by the PTDF between July and December 2003. The first deposit was for $10m in July 2003 and the second deposit was for $20m in December 2003.
“Less than 90 days after the first deposit on October 10, 2003, TIB advanced a loan of N400m to NDTV and two days later, it gave a loan of N420m to MOFAS. Fasawe has interests in NDTV and MOFAS and serves as chairman of both companies. A second loan of N30m was given again to NDTV by TIB, barely two months later on January 1, 2004.
“Some eight months before its first TIB loan on February 18, 2003, MOFAS gave N250m to Marine Float, a company owned by the vice- president and incorporated in 1992.
“The VP‘s company, Marine Float, had in the preceeding month paid N30m as deposit for the purchase of the headquarters of NDTV, confirming the vice-president‘s interests in NDTV.
“From October 2003, MOFAS paid more than N500m to Umar Pariya, the Personal Assistant of the VP. On one occasion, N61m was paid by MOFAS directly to the VP on January 29, 2001. MOFAS also paid N60m directly to Musa Garba on May 22, 2002.
Garba is, among other things, a contractor, who works for the ABTI establishment comprising the academy and the university owned by the VP.
“Garba had said, among other things in his statement during investigations, that he had cashed cheques in the past for the VP.
“Following the receipt of the loans from TIB in October 2003 and Jan 2004, NDTV concluded the payment for the headquarters of the organisation to the tune of N170m. NDTV also paid $6.5m to iGate in two instalments.
“Three deposits were made to Equitorial Trust Bank between June 2002 and July 2003 by the PTDF, then headed by Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar. The first deposit of $50m was made on June 25, 2002 from the UBA New York account of the PTDF to the bank.
“Less than two months after this on August 6, 2002, ETB paid $20m in support of the bid by Globacom. The second deposit of $52.9m was made by the PTDF on July 14, 2003 to the ETB, while the third deposit of $62.1m was made on July 17, 2003.”
The statement said that the former secretary of the PDTF benefited from loans in excess of N200m from the PDTF.
“A $3m contract with Univision of United Kingdom for the provision of consultancy services for the upgrade of Petroleum Training Institute, Warri and PDTF scholarships was inflated by $2m and the fund was diverted to four companies owned by Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar under the pretext of the companies offering services.
“The companies are FDZ Nigeria Limited, 19, Wharf Road, Apapa with corresponding bank in Bankers Trust Company in New York; Edginton Limited, 15, Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos with corresponding Bank as Habibsons Bank Limited, London, and Biosynthesis Nigeria Limited 18, Enugu Crescent and corresponding bank as American Express Bank, New York and Remington Limited, Abuja, BTC, NYC, Brussels.
“The Presidency also said that the ex-PTDF secretary remained a dealer and transporter for Conoil which is owned by Otunba Mike Adenuga.
“It is now known that Jeffrey Tesler facilitated a loan of $700m for Conoil. Tesler is known as an associate of former President Ibrahim Babangida. Mohammed Babangida owns 10 per cent shares in Conpetro, which owns 30 percent shareholding in Conoil. On August 30, 2002, Conoil paid $180m to support the Globacom bid.”
The statement said that President Obasanjo‘s submission to the National Assembly was in line with his constitutional responsibilities.
The statement said, “The VP has alleged political persecution and all sorts of things. That is far-fetched, by all standards.
“Neither the President nor anybody had an inkling of the dealings in PDTF until he was tipped off by Jefferson, whose link to the VP is well known. Secondly, the country would not have known that a public trust like the PTDF has been used to further private interests had NDTV and iGate not disagreed on a deal and petitioned the President.
“Monies in excess of N400m paid by MOFAS in October 2003 cannot be said to be campaign expenditure. What campaign, we dare ask, was on in October 2003, four months after the President and the vice-president had been sworn into office?”
The Presidency restated that Obasanjo did not receive any campaign donation from Dariye.
The statement said, “So much has been said about the donation of N100m to the PDP by Dariye. The truth is that no such money was donated. The Plateau State Governor wrote a N100m cheque in the name of Marine Float, owned by the VP. The date on the All States Trust Bank cheque is August 15, 2001, two clear years before the presidential elections in 2003.
“Following the insistence of the EFCC that the money be refunded, the vice-president begged the President to help him as he had no money. The President agreed to give N50m (There are witnesses. Copy of the cheque and report attached as annexure).
“This is not the only time that the President has had to come to the aid of the vice-president when he so requested.
“Concerning Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju, the special assistant to the President who was mentioned as a beneficiary of PTDF fund, Fasawe or any campaign fund on behalf of the President, we repeat that nothing can be further from the truth.
“Fasawe is well known to Adeyanju and has given him cash gifts since their relationship began more than eight years ago, long before the election of the President. Facts which can be checked at the EFCC show that not more than N5m had been given him over several years. Could that be a campaign fund or to bribe President Obasanjo?
“There is another issue. It is important to note that efforts are being made to divert attention from the real issues in this case.
“Beyond the calculations for future office, what we need to establish is whether the allegations raise a hint of gross misconduct, abuse of office, corruption, accountability and violation of the constitution, which the VP swore to protect.
“We need to establish whether the allegations relate to a violation of public morality and ethics which strike forcefully at the foundations of the anti-corruption policy of this government.
“The matter, thankfully, is before the National Assembly which under the constitution has oversight responsibility.
“It is instructive to note that all actions on the matter by the relevant agencies have followed the due process. Rather than engage in misrepresentation of facts, we would like to advise indicted parties to address pertinent issues at hand.”
When contacted on Tuesday night, a source in the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation simply said, “We are going to issue a statement on Wednesday (today).”
Fasawe, the operator of the controversial Marine Float Account, which is at the centre of the row between the President and Abubakar, on Tuesday, also rebuffed enquires from journalists on his role in the dispute.
Fasawe, who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, from Lagos at 11.30am aboard an ADC aircraft, told anxious newsmen that he was not ready to speak on the issue now.
“I will not talk. I will not talk,” Fasawe said.
The Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, however, defended the findings on Abubakar.
He alleged that the VP authorised the use of government funds for kickbacks.
He was quoted as telling the Agence France Presse, “This is a case where the vice- president was the person overseeing and supervising a government agency.”
“He personally authorised government money to be taken out and this money was taken to banks and the same money was taken to do some private business.
”Some of the money ended up being kickbacks to his own assistants directly. We did the investigation and made it public and those who are responsible directly will be charged in court.”
Ribadu dismissed insinuations that Obasanjo was using him to hunt down his perceived political enemies.
He said, “It‘s not even possible. I can‘t understand why anybody will want to ascribe the work we are doing to working for President Obasanjo. For what?”
“We have taken (arrested) those who are extremely close to the President, friends and associates. Nobody is talking about that.
“The moment you touch those people who hitherto seemed untouchable, who are above the law, then they will start to give it a different interpretation.
”Does it mean that if you turn to a thief today or you steal public money, simply because you want to regard yourself as anti-Obasanjo, you should be left alone?
Ribadu, who said he had no previous links with the President prior to his appointment, said the EFCC had achieved a lot in its three years of existence.
”We have over 400 criminal cases that are ongoing in various criminal courts in Nigeria today. We have secured about 82 convictions and we have recovered well over five billion dollars for federal, state and local governments and also for victims of frauds in and out of the country and the banks too,” he added.
Published: Wednesday, 13 Sep 2006
It also said that the scandal in the PTDF was blown open by the embattled US Congressman, William Jefferson.
It further explained that the controversial N100m, donated to the 2003 poll fund of the Obasanjo – Atiku Campaign Organisation by Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, was deposited into the vice-president’s account in 2001.
The Presidency’s reactions were contained in a statement in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the President, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo.
The statement gave graphic details of investigations into the alleged mismanagement of the PTDF by the vice-president, a former Executive Secretary of the PTDF, Hamisu Abubakar, and a friend of the VP, Otunba Reuben Fasawe.
The Presidency said the investigations were conducted from May 8, 2004 to September 5, 2006.
According to the statement, the probe by the Presidency followed a letter of complaint which Jefferson had written to President Olusegun Obasanjo over a $6.5m telecommunication deal between NDTV and iGate.
While the NDTV is owned by Fasawe, iGate (a US telecomms firm) belongs to Vernon Jackson, who was jailed on Friday for seven years over the same scandal.
An unnamed official of the NDTV had demanded for a $1m bribe, which prompted Jefferson to write the letter to the President.
The statement quoted Jefferson as saying, “One of the principals of NDTV demanded a kick-back of $1m of the $6.5 million. Additionally, Jackson reported to me that he was deeply troubled by comments made to him by the managing director of NDTV that the funds were delayed on the contract because they were expecting funds allegedly related to PTDF fixed deposits to pay for the rest of the project.
“Jackson was worried that this source of payment might be improper or perhaps even illegal. After hearing this from Jackson, I therefore refused to be of further help to NDTV to continue its contract with iGate as I did not want a smudge on my reputation, nor that of iGate or Jackson in dealings in Nigeria.
“A final concern that Jackson reported to me, unrelated to the contract violations, nonetheless disturbing, was that he feared he would become involved in Nigerian politics.
“This is because two of the principals of NDTV continued to press him to agree to have their partnership provide funds out of upcoming operations for the 2007 elections for the current vice- president of Nigeria to become President.
“At bottom, this is all there is to the matter – a business dispute that is left to be settled between the parties through good-faith negotiations – not through outrageous claims of wrongdoing.”
The Presidency said the President, in a letter of June 9, 2004, thanked Jefferson and ordered the immediate investigations into the PTDF activities.
The statement added that the President told Jefferson that he ”had taken immediate steps to ensure full investigations into PTDF activities in order to establish the veracity of the allegations made on the use of its resources to settle the obligations of the NDTV, a private company.”
The Presidency said preliminary investigations indicated that Jefferson was right about the PTDF.
It said that as a result of the preliminary findings, Alhaji Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar (a.k.a. Mirago), the PTDF’s executive secretary, was removed.
It added, “To get to the bottom of the matter, the President directed the police to continue the investigations. These are ongoing.
“By coincidence, Jefferson became entangled in another case, which involved the vice-president.
“The case was about allegations that Jefferson had asked and received bribes on behalf of the vice-president on a transaction involving the Nigeria Telecommunications Company Limited. That case led to the well-published raid on the US home of the VP.
“Because the matter involved a high-ranking US citizen, the FBI wrote to the EFCC to investigate the case and share information on the findings. Based on this, the EFCC took over the investigation of the PDTF.
“It is interesting to know that it was Jefferson, who has very obvious and deep business links with the VP and his associates, who blew the whistle that informed the investigation of the PTDF.
“After the investigations, a copy of the report was forwarded to the FBI and another to the President apparently because it was found out that the vice-president was directly involved in certain transactions and received cheques in his name. Funds from the PTDF have also been used to fund private projects of the VP.
“Taking great care not to be perceived as operating double standards on the matter of corruption, the President set up an administrative panel to study the EFCC report and advise the Federal Executive Council.
“The recourse to an administrative panel of inquiry was informed by the fact that government was so embarrassed that it could not trust any other mechanism to advise the findings of the EFCC. Again, the nature of the persons involved required that the report be treated with utmost confidentiality and secrecy.
“The panel‘s report, presented to the FEC, concluded that the VP abused his office, violated oath of office and the 1999 Constitution. Since the President has no powers to sanction his deputy, he decided to forward the report to the National Assembly for the information of all members.”
The Presidency traced the lodgement of the PTDF funds in ETB and TIB to 2003.
It also added a fresh dimension to the war of letters between the President and the VP by attaching photocopies of cheques to the statement.
It said, “Two deposits were made to the TIB by the PTDF between July and December 2003. The first deposit was for $10m in July 2003 and the second deposit was for $20m in December 2003.
“Less than 90 days after the first deposit on October 10, 2003, TIB advanced a loan of N400m to NDTV and two days later, it gave a loan of N420m to MOFAS. Fasawe has interests in NDTV and MOFAS and serves as chairman of both companies. A second loan of N30m was given again to NDTV by TIB, barely two months later on January 1, 2004.
“Some eight months before its first TIB loan on February 18, 2003, MOFAS gave N250m to Marine Float, a company owned by the vice- president and incorporated in 1992.
“The VP‘s company, Marine Float, had in the preceeding month paid N30m as deposit for the purchase of the headquarters of NDTV, confirming the vice-president‘s interests in NDTV.
“From October 2003, MOFAS paid more than N500m to Umar Pariya, the Personal Assistant of the VP. On one occasion, N61m was paid by MOFAS directly to the VP on January 29, 2001. MOFAS also paid N60m directly to Musa Garba on May 22, 2002.
Garba is, among other things, a contractor, who works for the ABTI establishment comprising the academy and the university owned by the VP.
“Garba had said, among other things in his statement during investigations, that he had cashed cheques in the past for the VP.
“Following the receipt of the loans from TIB in October 2003 and Jan 2004, NDTV concluded the payment for the headquarters of the organisation to the tune of N170m. NDTV also paid $6.5m to iGate in two instalments.
“Three deposits were made to Equitorial Trust Bank between June 2002 and July 2003 by the PTDF, then headed by Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar. The first deposit of $50m was made on June 25, 2002 from the UBA New York account of the PTDF to the bank.
“Less than two months after this on August 6, 2002, ETB paid $20m in support of the bid by Globacom. The second deposit of $52.9m was made by the PTDF on July 14, 2003 to the ETB, while the third deposit of $62.1m was made on July 17, 2003.”
The statement said that the former secretary of the PDTF benefited from loans in excess of N200m from the PDTF.
“A $3m contract with Univision of United Kingdom for the provision of consultancy services for the upgrade of Petroleum Training Institute, Warri and PDTF scholarships was inflated by $2m and the fund was diverted to four companies owned by Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar under the pretext of the companies offering services.
“The companies are FDZ Nigeria Limited, 19, Wharf Road, Apapa with corresponding bank in Bankers Trust Company in New York; Edginton Limited, 15, Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos with corresponding Bank as Habibsons Bank Limited, London, and Biosynthesis Nigeria Limited 18, Enugu Crescent and corresponding bank as American Express Bank, New York and Remington Limited, Abuja, BTC, NYC, Brussels.
“The Presidency also said that the ex-PTDF secretary remained a dealer and transporter for Conoil which is owned by Otunba Mike Adenuga.
“It is now known that Jeffrey Tesler facilitated a loan of $700m for Conoil. Tesler is known as an associate of former President Ibrahim Babangida. Mohammed Babangida owns 10 per cent shares in Conpetro, which owns 30 percent shareholding in Conoil. On August 30, 2002, Conoil paid $180m to support the Globacom bid.”
The statement said that President Obasanjo‘s submission to the National Assembly was in line with his constitutional responsibilities.
The statement said, “The VP has alleged political persecution and all sorts of things. That is far-fetched, by all standards.
“Neither the President nor anybody had an inkling of the dealings in PDTF until he was tipped off by Jefferson, whose link to the VP is well known. Secondly, the country would not have known that a public trust like the PTDF has been used to further private interests had NDTV and iGate not disagreed on a deal and petitioned the President.
“Monies in excess of N400m paid by MOFAS in October 2003 cannot be said to be campaign expenditure. What campaign, we dare ask, was on in October 2003, four months after the President and the vice-president had been sworn into office?”
The Presidency restated that Obasanjo did not receive any campaign donation from Dariye.
The statement said, “So much has been said about the donation of N100m to the PDP by Dariye. The truth is that no such money was donated. The Plateau State Governor wrote a N100m cheque in the name of Marine Float, owned by the VP. The date on the All States Trust Bank cheque is August 15, 2001, two clear years before the presidential elections in 2003.
“Following the insistence of the EFCC that the money be refunded, the vice-president begged the President to help him as he had no money. The President agreed to give N50m (There are witnesses. Copy of the cheque and report attached as annexure).
“This is not the only time that the President has had to come to the aid of the vice-president when he so requested.
“Concerning Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju, the special assistant to the President who was mentioned as a beneficiary of PTDF fund, Fasawe or any campaign fund on behalf of the President, we repeat that nothing can be further from the truth.
“Fasawe is well known to Adeyanju and has given him cash gifts since their relationship began more than eight years ago, long before the election of the President. Facts which can be checked at the EFCC show that not more than N5m had been given him over several years. Could that be a campaign fund or to bribe President Obasanjo?
“There is another issue. It is important to note that efforts are being made to divert attention from the real issues in this case.
“Beyond the calculations for future office, what we need to establish is whether the allegations raise a hint of gross misconduct, abuse of office, corruption, accountability and violation of the constitution, which the VP swore to protect.
“We need to establish whether the allegations relate to a violation of public morality and ethics which strike forcefully at the foundations of the anti-corruption policy of this government.
“The matter, thankfully, is before the National Assembly which under the constitution has oversight responsibility.
“It is instructive to note that all actions on the matter by the relevant agencies have followed the due process. Rather than engage in misrepresentation of facts, we would like to advise indicted parties to address pertinent issues at hand.”
When contacted on Tuesday night, a source in the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation simply said, “We are going to issue a statement on Wednesday (today).”
Fasawe, the operator of the controversial Marine Float Account, which is at the centre of the row between the President and Abubakar, on Tuesday, also rebuffed enquires from journalists on his role in the dispute.
Fasawe, who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, from Lagos at 11.30am aboard an ADC aircraft, told anxious newsmen that he was not ready to speak on the issue now.
“I will not talk. I will not talk,” Fasawe said.
The Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, however, defended the findings on Abubakar.
He alleged that the VP authorised the use of government funds for kickbacks.
He was quoted as telling the Agence France Presse, “This is a case where the vice- president was the person overseeing and supervising a government agency.”
“He personally authorised government money to be taken out and this money was taken to banks and the same money was taken to do some private business.
”Some of the money ended up being kickbacks to his own assistants directly. We did the investigation and made it public and those who are responsible directly will be charged in court.”
Ribadu dismissed insinuations that Obasanjo was using him to hunt down his perceived political enemies.
He said, “It‘s not even possible. I can‘t understand why anybody will want to ascribe the work we are doing to working for President Obasanjo. For what?”
“We have taken (arrested) those who are extremely close to the President, friends and associates. Nobody is talking about that.
“The moment you touch those people who hitherto seemed untouchable, who are above the law, then they will start to give it a different interpretation.
”Does it mean that if you turn to a thief today or you steal public money, simply because you want to regard yourself as anti-Obasanjo, you should be left alone?
Ribadu, who said he had no previous links with the President prior to his appointment, said the EFCC had achieved a lot in its three years of existence.
”We have over 400 criminal cases that are ongoing in various criminal courts in Nigeria today. We have secured about 82 convictions and we have recovered well over five billion dollars for federal, state and local governments and also for victims of frauds in and out of the country and the banks too,” he added.
Posted by Publisher at September 13, 2006 12:50 PM
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