Metro

Former Nigerian Petroleum Minister faces jail term in UK on £100k bribery charges

Published

1 year ago

August 23, 2023

A former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, could sent to jail in the United Kingdom after the government charged her to court for allegedly receiving a bribe of £100,000 in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.

The UK National Crime Agency (NCA), which released the details of the charges on Tuesday, said it had concluded an intensive investigation which nailed the
63-year-old Alison-Madueke who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The statement, which was endorsed by Andy Kelly, Head of the NCA’s International Corruption Unit (ICU), noted the the former President of OPEC had been under investigation after suspicion emerged that she accepted bribes during her time as minister in exchange for awarding multi-million pound oil and gas contracts.

The NCA allege that during her time as Minister, Alison-Madueke benefitted from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.

Other charges, according to the NCA, were rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.

Madueke, who currently lives in St John’s Wood, London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on October 2, according to the statement.

“We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts,” Kelly said in the statement.

“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.

“Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries. We will continue to work with partners here and overseas to tackle the threat,” he added.

Alison-Madueke has been a subject of international investigation over corruption since leaving office in 2015 with the defeat of Goodluck Jonathan by former President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election.

The NCA had, in March, provided evidence to the US Department of Justice that enabled them to recover assets totalling USD$53.1m linked to Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption, running into millions of pounds. In Nigeria, she is also being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over several corruption allegations.

In 2017, the EFCC said it had traced the sums of N47.2bn and $487.5m to the former minister. In 2022, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the final forfeiture of two Abuja properties and two luxury cars belonging to Alison-Madueke, to the Federal Government.

The two properties which were located at Plot 1854 Mohammed Mahashir Street and No. 6, Aso Drive in Abuja’s highbrow Asokoro and Maitama Districts, respectively, were said to be valued at $2,674,418 and N380m respectively.

Other properties seized from her included luxury cars including a BMW and a Jaguar valued at N36m.

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Metro

Zambia: Farmers’ union warns of uncertain future for agriculture sector

Published

11 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Small-Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) of Zambia has warned of uncertainty on the future of the agricultural sector, stating that its outlook over the next 25 years remains uncertain and gloomy.

The Executive Director of SAFADA, Boyd Moobwe, who raised the concerns in a telephone interview with Zambia Monitor on Saturday, expressed regrets that the agric sector was facing critical challenges that could hinder its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and overall economic growth by 2030.

Moobwe admitted that the rapid changes in agriculture due to new technologies and innovations, has been slow amid the inconsistent implementation of these advancements which raises questions about the sector’s ability to survive amidst the growing threats of climate change, political instability, and economic difficulties.

The SAFADA Director pointed out that many of the problems plaguing agriculture were self-inflicted.

“The current measures for agricultural and rural financing are inadequate due to poor data analysis and utilisation,” Moobwe said.

Agriculture, he said, “had the potential to revive the economy if proper policies were introduced and if small-scale farmers were fully involved in planning and implementing agricultural projects.”

Metro

Nigeria: CSO urges President Tinubu to investigate missing funds in Humanitarian Ministry

Published

15 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A Nigerian civil society organization, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has called on President Bola Tinubu to launch an investigation into the over N57 billion that allegedly went missing in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021.

The organisation, in a statement on Sunday, urged the president to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, as well as other anti-corruption agencies to commence a probe into the allegations without delay.

In the letter issued by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare and addressed to President Tinubu, the group warned against sweeping the allegations under the carpet as the Nigerian public has a right to know what happened to their money.

“The allegations amount to stealing from the poor. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations,” the watch dog group said.

“The allegations also suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anticorruption legislation, and international anticorruption obligations.

“Hundreds of billions of naira are also reportedly missing in other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviations and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, (the ministry) in 2021 failed to account for over N54 billion meant to pay monthly stipends to Batch C1 N-Power volunteers and non-graduate trainees between August and December 2021.

“The money was not directly paid to the beneficiaries. The Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants suspected perpetrators of the diversion to be sanctioned in line with the Financial Regulations.

“The ministry reportedly failed to account for over N2.6 billion of public funds meant for the home-grown school feeding programme during Covid-19, as the programme was never executed. The money was allegedly paid to five contractors to procure, package and distribute Covid-19 palliatives to Kano, Zamfara and Abia states, but without any trace.

“The ministry also reportedly spent over N78 million to carry out a survey on the ministry’s Covid-19 response to states and vulnerable groups but without any approval or document.

“The ministry also reportedly failed to account for N400 million meant to pay stipends to 4,450 independent monitors for October, November, and December 2021.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

“SERAP urges you to immediately enforce the judgment by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, ordering your government to release the spending details of N729 billion by Mrs Sadia Umar-Farouk, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development,” SERAP warned.