Greasy Collaboration: Presidency Intensifies Efforts To Discredit Ribadu Report, Invites Friendly Editors To ‘Lunch’
Posted: November 11, 2012 - 01:22


Presidential "attack dog", Doyin Okupe


By SaharaReporters, New York
The Jonathan presidency today moved a step further to discredit the report of the Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force (PRSTF), which was submitted to it two weeks ago.

In a rare collaboration between the office of the Special Assistant to President Jonathan on Public Affairs and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, selected journalists have been invited to lunch tomorrow with the presidential attack dog, Dr. Doyin Okupe, where they will be briefed.

The normally rewarding luncheon will take place at the fashionable Lagoon Restaurant in Victoria Island Lagos at 1PM on Sunday according to a text message obtained by SaharaReporters.

Dr. Okupe has become the arrowhead of plans by President Goodluck Jonathan to discredit the committee report, which partly asserts that Nigeria presidents, including the current, have used the NNPC to shell out favors to cronies, relatives and family members.

The report revealed that major oil corporations ripped Nigeria off to over $30 billion in back taxes and royalties.

SaharaReporters had revealed that Mr. Jonathan was planning to kill the report using Mr. Steve Orosanye, who acted as the secretary of the commission.

Mr. Oronsaye refused to attend the meetings of the committee but instead got himself appointed to the board of the NNPC.
On the day of the submission of the committee report, Mr. Oronsaye was flown into Nigeria to rubbish the report, his speech at the occasion throwing the report into controversy.

Mr. Okupe, who sat directly behind Ribadu during the submission of the committee work, looked livid as Ribadu confronted Oronsaye.

Mr. Okupe, who Ribadu once described a consummate criminal, spent two months in detention for fraud while Mr. Ribadu was the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Okupe, now the face and voice of aggression in Aso Rock, had been involved in contract scams involving Imo and Benue States, where he stole monies meant for road construction. Shortly after he was granted bail, Mr. Ribadu was kicked out of the EFCC.

Mr. Okupe was never tried for those scams until the controversy surfaced shortly after his recent appointment by President Jonathan.

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State also accussed Mr. Okupe of stealing N5 million from the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Tunji Olurin, in 2011. The money had been donated to the governorship candidate by former Governor Segun Oni of Ekiti state.

Tomorrow’s lunch will be a tripartite event between Okupe, the NNPC and some editors who have reportedly been paid in advance to help rubbish the Ribadu committee report, or suppress adverse stories about it in their media outlets.

One of the main portions of the Ribadu report claims that oil traders in the international market sell Nigerian oil, a practice Mr. Ribadu says is not only criminal but also totally unacceptable. According to his speech to Mr. Jonathan, Ribadu claims that only the government of war-torn Congo engages oil traders to sell its oil.

Saharareporters investigations show, however, that of the 40 oil traders engaged in oil sales, 25 of them are directly owned or controlled by President Jonathan and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke.

In addition, Mrs. Allison –Madueke has complete control of the 445,000 barrels per day allocated to the NNPC for local consumption.

Jonathan’s govt lacks will to fight corruption –Reps

NOVEMBER 11, 2012 BY JOHN AMEH, OLUWOLE JOSIAH, CHUKWUDI AKASIKE AND OLALEKAN ADETAYO 9 COMMENTS

The House of Representatives has excoriated the Federal Government for its subtle moves to bury the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Special Task Force report.

Consequently,[b] it said President Goodluck Jonathan’s government lacked the political will to fight corruption, especially in the oil and gas industry.

Its position came in the wake of criticisms of the report by the Presidency. The Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe, had on Thursday, disparaged it as “containing loopholes.”

The House, however, said it was not surprised by the way the Executive handled Ribadu’s report because probes conducted into the oil sector since 1999 had turned in damning reports, which the Presidency could not act on.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, told SUNDAY PUNCH in Abuja that there was “a deliberate attempt not to implement the Ribadu report.”

Mohammed noted that the investigation was “calculated to fail from the beginning,” considering the controversies and intrigues, which surrounded the work of the Ribadu committee.

He added, “So, what we have seen is the lack of political will to prosecute.

“The House, for instance, conducted several probes in the past and made recommendations, but how have we fared?

“We did the Farouk Lawan probe, it was politicised; now there is Ribadu probe and the same drama is playing out.

“What this tells us is that there is no political will to prosecute those who have been indicted.”

The lawmaker stated that though the National Assembly had enormous constitutional powers to ask questions on the management of public resources and recommend penalties where necessary, it was not the duty of the legislature to enforce the penalties.

“We have our limits under the constitution.

“The constitution does not give us the power to prosecute; that is the job of the Executive.[/b]

“We have asked all the questions and made relevant recommendations, but there is failure of prosecution, which is not our role as legislators,” he added.

Mohammed gave the assurance that the House would continue to perform its constitutional responsibility of exposing corruption.

But The Presidency on Friday, said it was unfortunate that there had been “ignorant carping and unintelligent tittle-tattle” about Ribadu’s report.

Presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, made the position of the Presidency known in an interview with one of our correspondents.

According to Abati, those talking about “political will” are beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s commitment to the rule of law and fair play.

Taking on Zakari, he said, “Zakari Mohammed of the House of Representatives talks absent-mindedly about “lack of political will” to fight corruption.

“He should know, if he has been reading the newspapers, that on the basis of both the report of the House of Representatives and the Aig-Imokhuede committee reports, persons are currently being prosecuted in the law courts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.”

The presidential spokesman added that the committees in question and the probes into the petroleum sector were initiated by Jonathan to ensure transparency in the extractive industry.

He added, “The Federal Government has not done anything to stop or discourage the prosecution of indicted persons. We have made the point, again and again, that in this ongoing fight against corruption, there will be no “cover-ups”; and no “sacred cows,” and that President Jonathan’s only interest is the people’s interest.

“The President is already taking steps to address some of the issues raised in the reports. I had in the last 48 hours drawn attention to the fact that the President gave clear directives on the state of the refineries and that at least one meeting has been held since the presentation of the Report on Refineries, to act specifically on the recommendations made. President Jonathan has directed that he wants the refineries fixed and steps are already being taken; deadlines have been set.”

Meanwhile, the Senate has said it will commence the strengthening and passage of relevant legislation to ensure transparency in the oil sector.

This is coming amid the furore generated by the Ribadu report and lack of transparency in the sector highlighted in the reports of different probes.

Leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), said on Friday that the Senate through its committees had been carrying out oversights by way of investigations; some revelations had been made.

He said, “We have continued to expose corruption and the weaknesses in the sector. We will need to strengthen certain legislation that will make the industry transparent and accountable to the public.

“But at the end of the day, it will be the duty of the public to hold public officers accountable using the Freedom of Information Act.”

When asked what specific laws would be strengthened or enacted, Ndoma-Egba mentioned the expeditious consideration of the Petroleum Industry Bill, which he said was aimed at cleaning up the petroleum sector.

He noted that the Senate would also be looking at the Money Laundering Act for ways of dealing with corruption in the oil sector.

According to him, the Senate would also strengthen the Anti-Terrorism Law which has some finance components that could be applied to unwholesome activities in the sector.

He said, “There is an improvement in our oversight of the agencies in the oil sector, because now we are discussing issues in the sector.

“Before now, it was seen as a no-go-area. But we discussing them in details. That shows a relative improvement in the legislative oversight of the sector,” he said.

Also speaking on the issue, Senate Spokesman, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, denied that there was any failure in oversight, arguing that the relevant committees had been given the responsibility to oversee the agencies in the sector well.

He said, “We are yet to get a copy of the Ribadu report to know exactly the recommendations and its contents. Such will guide further response from the Senate.”

Meanwhile, the Concerned Advocates for Good Governance has attributed the criticism of the Ribadu’s probe report by the Presidency to the President’s interest in the 2015 presidential election.

National Coordinator of the CAGG, Mr. Olusegun Bamgbose, described the Presidency’s position on the report as a political gimmick and deliberate attempt to rubbish the person of Ribadu.

Bamgbose, who spoke in a telephone interview with SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday, explained that the former EFCC czar was well known to Nigerians as a man whose image could not be destroyed overnight.

Bamgbose said, “What we have seen is an attempt to smear the image of Ribadu. It is a deliberate attempt to remove all opposition from the way. It is obvious that this is all about 2015 presidency.

“He (Ribadu) is a man of integrity, who believes in transparency and honesty. You cannot destroy his image overnight.

“Ribadu made a grave mistake by accepting to be part of the Petroleum Special Task Force. The Ribadu we know is a trusted and reliable person. How do you expect him to mess up when he knows that Nigerians are watching?”

On the criticism from Okupe, the CAGG national coordinator said Jonathan’s aide painted a wrong picture of Ribadu in order to gain a political point.

Bamgbose urged Ribadu to clear his name immediately and resign from the task force because the current administration might not share in his beliefs and goals for the country.

He said Nigerians would soon realise that government’s disapproval of the report was politically motivated.

In the wake of Janaury 2012 uprising against the removal of fuel subsidy, the Senate had conducted investigation into the oil and gas sector, which revealed that NNPC could not explain the schedule and utilisation of the 450,000 crude barrels per day.

Also, the agency failed to explain the 75,000 barrels per day allocated for swarp with a foreign refinery company, just as underpayments of royalties by oil companies and sundry financial abuses were dictated in a similar report from a probe, which the House of Representatives carried out in 2008.

The Senate has yet to consider the report. Just as the NNPC faulted the Ribadu report, so it did to all Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative reports, which chronicled abuses in the oil sector.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, Minister of Finance, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Accountant-General of the Federation, the Minister of Petroleum, among others, constitute the board of NEITI.

take dat: What else do we expect from dodgy characters at the helm of affairs? This government will never be able to fight corruption. Prior to the setting up of Ribadu's task force we've had damning revelations from NEITI, the KPMG report, the House of Representatives report and none has been acted upon. I remember Remi Babalola drew the ire of this government when he said NNPC was insolvent and he was forced to resign. Even after the committees upon committees set up to look into the fuel subsidy scam we are yet to see any of the marketers in jail but rather one of them was awarded the second National honour. We are also yet to see any of the staff of NNPC, DPR, CBN, Budget office, Customs, NIMASA, Office of the Accountant general, ministry of finance and PPPRA who all connived with the petroleum marketers to defraud the country of over a trillion naira sacked or prosecuted. The former chairman of PPPRA is still a free man as of today and the government will claim it is fighting corruption. Who is fooling who then?

The revelations from the report cannot be disputed even if the figures don't tally. Its a known fact that NNPC sells its crude oil allocation of 445,000bpd at cut down prices while our refineries remain in a state of comatose and petroleum marketers and government agencies milk the government and Nigerians on a daily basis.

The excuse of the government of being unable to prosecute those who have perpetuated these graft for over 10 years simply because the figures quoted in the report are not verified is inadmissible except they are trying to Cover up their misdemeanours cos overtly or covertly successive presidents including GEJ have all benefited from the rot in the sector such as allocation of oil blocs to cronies, getting NNPC to fund their non budgeted projects, acquisition of presidential jets and so on.

The least GEJ can do for now is to lobby for the quick passage of the PIB which some people have even condemned of giving so much powers to the minister of petroleum. As for all the reports they well keep gathering dust or another committee will be set up to look into them since we run a government of committees!

Gbawe:

I personally only hope Nigerians can learn from all the appalling actions of Government they are witnessing. My brother, believe me when I say even the Banana republics in Africa we are fond of laughing at are no longer bedevilled by the sort of laughable and brazen 419 actions seen from the crude thieves leading Nigeria. Everywhere else, It is becoming the norm to steal 'sensibly' and refrain from actions displaying the sort of callous impunity that demeans Africa and ridicule the black man as a self-destructive aberration in humanity. Nigerian leaders just never got that memo.

Akanbi_edu: Looks like Ribadu outsmarted the government. Kudos.

werepeLeri: From Ribadu himself on Page 2 of the report:

The report on page two states that: “The data used in this report was presented by various stakeholders who made submission to the Task Force in the course of our assignment at various dates, which have been disclosed in relevant sections of the report. Due to time frame of the assignment, some of the data used could not be independently verified and the Task Force recommends that the Government should conduct such necessary verifications and reconciliations.”


Is this not what government is taking about? Take it or leave it, why is Ribadu passing the job of the committee back to government?

werepeLeri: From Ribadu himself on Page 2 of the report:

The report on page two states that: “The data used in this report was presented by various stakeholders who made submission to the Task Force in the course of our assignment at various dates, which have been disclosed in relevant sections of the report. Due to time frame of the assignment, some of the data used could not be independently verified and the Task Force recommends that the Government should conduct such necessary verifications and reconciliations.”


Is this not what government is taking about? Take it or leave it, why is Ribadu passing the job of the committee back to government?

take dat: What else do we expect from dodgy characters at the helm of affairs? This government will never be able to fight corruption. Prior to the setting up of Ribadu's task force we've had damning revelations from NEITI, the KPMG report, the House of Representatives report and none has been acted upon. I remember Remi Babalola drew the ire of this government when he said NNPC was insolvent and he was forced to resign. Even after the committees upon committees set up to look into the fuel subsidy scam we are yet to see any of the marketers in jail but rather one of them was awarded the second National honour. We are also yet to see any of the staff of NNPC, DPR, CBN, Budget office, Customs, NIMASA, Office of the Accountant general, ministry of finance and PPPRA who all connived with the petroleum marketers to defraud the country of over a trillion naira sacked or prosecuted. The former chairman of PPPRA is still a free man as of today and the government will claim it is fighting corruption. Who is fooling who then?

The revelations from the report cannot be disputed even if the figures don't tally. Its a known fact that NNPC sells its crude oil allocation of 445,000bpd at cut down prices while our refineries remain in a state of comatose and petroleum marketers and government agencies milk the government and Nigerians on a daily basis.

The excuse of the government of being unable to prosecute those who have perpetuated these graft for over 10 years simply because the figures quoted in the report are not verified is inadmissible except they are trying to cover up their misdemeanours cos overtly or covertly successive presidents including GEJ have all benefited from the rot in the sector such as allocation of oil blocs to cronies, getting NNPC to fund their non budgeted projects, acquisition of presidential jets and so on.

The least GEJ can do for now is to lobby for the quick passage of the PIB which some people have even condemned of giving so much powers to the minister of petroleum. As for the reports, they will keep gathering dust or another committee will be set up to look into them since we run a Government of Committees!

take dat: What else do we expect from dodgy characters at the helm of affairs? This government will never be able to fight corruption. Prior to the setting up of Ribadu's task force we've had damning revelations from NEITI, the KPMG report, the House of Representatives report and none has been acted upon. I remember Remi Babalola drew the ire of this government when he said NNPC was insolvent and he was forced to resign. Even after the committees upon committees set up to look into the fuel subsidy scam we are yet to see any of the marketers in jail but rather one of them was awarded the second National honour. We are also yet to see any of the staff of NNPC, DPR, CBN, Budget office, Customs, NIMASA, Office of the Accountant general, ministry of finance and PPPRA who all connived with the petroleum marketers to defraud the country of over a trillion naira sacked or prosecuted. The former chairman of PPPRA is still a free man as of today and the government will claim it is fighting corruption. Who is fooling who then?

The revelations from the report cannot be disputed even if the figures don't tally. Its a known fact that NNPC sells its crude oil allocation of 445,000bpd at cut down prices while our refineries remain in a state of comatose and petroleum marketers and government agencies milk the government and Nigerians on a daily basis.

The excuse of the government of being unable to prosecute those who have perpetuated these graft for over 10 years simply because the figures quoted in the report are not verified is inadmissible except they are trying to cover up their misdemeanours cos overtly or covertly successive presidents including GEJ have all benefited from the rot in the sector such as allocation of oil blocs to cronies, getting NNPC to fund their non budgeted projects, acquisition of presidential jets and so on.

The least GEJ can do for now is to lobby for the quick passage of the PIB which some people have even condemned of giving so much powers to the minister of petroleum. As for the reports, they will keep gathering dust or another committee will be set up to look into them since we run a Government of Committees!

Akanbi_edu: Looks like Ribadu outsmarted the government. Kudos.

acidtalk: Jonathan's case to Nigeria's affair is like making an ARMED ROBBER JUDGE over PICK POCKETS.


He is presently the MOST CORRUPT Nigerian still living. His record of corruption might not be broken in 5 decades from now.

Ikwere fist son: 2 solutions 2 nijas problm.a bludy revolutn or divisn

Maxymilliano: Gbawe you are not doing a good job here, the President if fully aware of the rots in the Petroleum sector and that's why Ribadu was drafted in to play his own part in halting the drift in the sector. The President was not coerced into taking such step, so why making it sound like the Goverment is jittery over the outcome of the probe when it was the same goverment that that set up the committee in the first place.

Yes, Ribadu might have uncovered a link to the presidency in the seeming cycle of corruption that pervade the oil sector but he shot himself in the foot with the inconclusive reports thereby making it absolutely impossible for the government to enforce the recommendations of the committee or will you have advised the government to go ahead with the implementation of a technically flawed recommendation?

I read recently that the government in one of the dailies that the government is set to implement the recommendations of the Idika Kalu committee but can same be said of Ribadu's report where the term of reference was not adhered to?

The question we should be asking is why did Ribadu submitted incomplete report? Why shifting back the burden of reconcillation of evidence back to the FG? Ribadu never included undue interference and lack ok cooperation from the ministry involved as part of the challenges he and the members experienced in the course of the task so why the inconclusive report despite the leeway the committee enjoys?

The sincerity of the Presidency will be revealed in a matter of days but as it is now, Ribadu bungled up big time and it will be puerile of us to ignore such than speculating on falsehood and what is not.
It is due to this type of clumsy investigations by goverment agencies that made corrupt politicians to eat their cake and still have it, I will advise anyone to go and read the judgement of Justice Okon Abang when he struck out EFCC's case against Erastus Akingbola and went ahead to lampoon the lawyers representing EFCC for lack of due dilligence and wasting government money without providing and substantial and material evidence which resulted from clumsy investigations like what Ribadu just did.

Kobojunkie: This government has from the beginning shown itself incompetent, and dysfunctional. How can the very Government that set up these committees work hard to discredit it? This is not the first time and obvious will not be the last if Nigerians do not wake up soon. Committee after Committee, set up by this same government has been discredited by the same Government, after results are revealed. What is going on?

Gbawe:

You focus on Ribadu but ignore the procedurally condemnable action of Allison-Madueke who, as chairman of its board, allowed Orasanye and Otti to be drafted into the NNPC while investigating the same body. For that alone, she should be sacked immediately and sanctioned because it is obvious she wilfully compromised the committee she was mandated to head with integrity.

Do you see this happening anywhere else in the world i.e this blatant and shameless show of 419? If an America/British/French or even South African investigative team is mandated to investigate their export waiver sector , would it be possible for any member of the investigative team to then be employed by the Export waiver office?

The way some Nigerians talk online these days just show, sadly, non-Nigerians are somewhat justified talking as if we have become a people who are not upright by nature and are happy to endorse criminality, fraud, deception. There is no two ways about this. Focus should not be on Ribadu if we are a politically sophisticated people with intact moral compass.

Anyway, your President has stated publicly he "does not give a damn" so I expect this to be reflected in his conduct to the extent of the shameless Nollywood drama we are seeing everywhere these days.

Maxymilliano:






Yes, I focused more on Ribadu because the import of Orosanye and Oti's reservation to the findings of the committee would have pailed into insignificance if Ribadu has done a thorough job. But like I said, the sincerity of the president will be made known in days to come but speculating and making unfounded assertions based on mere conjectures is puerile if you ask me.

Maxymilliano:






Yes, I focused more on Ribadu because the import of Orosanye and Oti's reservation to the findings of the committee would have pailed into insignificance if Ribadu has done a thorough job. But like I said, the sincerity of the president will be made known in days to come but speculating and making unfounded assertions based on mere conjectures is puerile if you ask me.