Jonathan's $50,000 Bribe to SNG-SR

“After the meeting with the President, he left the wing where we met for another [wing] and said ‘please don't go yet I'm coming’. Sensing what that could [mean] we headed for our cars…We would have left before Orubebe emerged from the president with a brown envelope but for the fact that the drivers were not allowed to stay in the cars.” Odumakin further explained: “Before we could drive off he [Orubebe] brought the ‘gift’ from the President and he said so. We rejected the money instantly but he was persistent. Wisdom dictated we couldn't be creating scene at the [Aso Rock] villa gate after midnight.” “We headed to our hotel and called Mr. Tony Uranta to come up with us. We then called Orubebe and put him on speaker to let him know that we are returning the money through Uranta back to him and to the president. Mr. Uranta then said that he appreciated our integrity" Yinka Odumakin, an official of Save Nigeria Group (SNG) who was a member of the SNG delegation that visisted President Goodluck Jonathan


Yinka Odumakin, an official of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), has provided more details about the $50,000 bribe the government of President Goodluck Jonathan had tried to offer the group, but which was rejected.

Saharareporters had earlier reported that the Jonathan administration had offered the cash after SNG officials led by Pastor Tunde Bakare met with the president in Aso Rock to discuss the group’s disappointment with the state of the nation. After Tony Uranta, an aide of Jonathan’s, denied our original report, Pastor Bakare granted us an exclusive interview to confirm that the bribe had been offered, but that his group had spurned the inducement.

The story of what transpired when the Save Nigeria Group met with Jonathan and his team last Monday further unfolded today as Mr. Odumakin, who was a member of the SNG delegation, explained how Minister of the Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe, offered the cash to the delegates.

Narrating his case earlier today on naijapolitics, a popular listerv, Mr. Odumakin wrote as follows: “After the meeting with the President, he left the wing where we met for another [wing] and said ‘please don't go yet I'm coming’. Sensing what that could [mean] we headed for our cars…We would have left before Orubebe emerged from the president with a brown envelope but for the fact that the drivers were not allowed to stay in the cars.”

Odumakin further explained: “Before we could drive off he [Orubebe] brought the ‘gift’ from the President and he said so. We rejected the money instantly but he was persistent. Wisdom dictated we couldn't be creating scene at the [Aso Rock] villa gate after midnight.”

“We headed to our hotel and called Mr. Tony Uranta to come up with us. We then called Orubebe and put him on speaker to let him know that we are returning the money through Uranta back to him and to the president. Mr. Uranta then said that he appreciated our integrity.”

Mr. Odumakin revealed that the $50,000 came in “five bundles and all $100”. He added that, in order to guarantee that the money was returned to source, they also called Oronto Douglas, a senior adviser to Jonathan, to inform him of their action.   “We had moved on and we ordinarily would not have embarrassed the Presidency on this matter,” Mr. Odumakin further wrote, adding, “But 48 hours after the visit Saharareporters called to inquire if we visited Jonathan, which we confirmed. We then learnt that the meeting leaked through the other party. At that point, it became clear that some people were out to do some dirty job. It was later revealed to us that the story that was actually sold was that we collected money from the Presidency.”   Meanwhile, Mr. Orubebe today sent Saharareporters a rejoinder about the affair. Curiously, the minister’s rejoinder provided little clarification about his involvement in handing out the controversial cash.

Below is Mr. Orubebe’s full statement:NO REASON TO BRIBE SNG, SAYS ORUBEBE

I have read, with a deep sense of shock and disappointment, allegations made against me in an on-line medium, claiming that Iattempted to bribe the leadership of the Save Nigeria Group, SNG,after a visit with the president. I find these allegations deeply distressing, and I am certain that thehighly respected Pastor Tunde Bakare must have been quoted out ofcontext. I am forced to react to these allegations only because Iwould consider it an insult for anyone to attempt to bribe someone ofthat stature, visiting with his group, and with, of all sums, 50,000dollars.

True, a bribe is a bribe, no matter the sum. This is the reason why Iam all the more concerned and worried about these claims. What Ihowever find intriguing is that there is absolutely no reason to bribe the Save Nigeria Group. When the body on its own volition rose tochallenge the sense of drift that had befallen the country over theillness of our late leader, Mallam Umaru Musa Yar’adua, did anyonebribe them? So it is hard to believe that any right thinking person would attemptto do so now. If a bribe is intended to induce someone to either dosomething, or to refrain from doing it, what in objective terms wouldI need to bribe the SNG for at this time?

This is a false story that should be dismissed by all right thinking persons.

The statement is signed by “Elder Peter Godsday Orubebe, Hon. Minister,Ministry of Niger Delta,” and dated 29th November.

My Oppinion; President Jonathan once said:

"Ignore politicians who seek to win elections by offering money to groups and individuals." -President Jonathan
I will take the man for his word and his advice. i will ignore him for attempting to bribr this group. Na him talk am, no be me
"Jonathan's $50,000 "bribe" came in $100 Bills"- Yinka Odumakin SNG Scribe.

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/jonathan%E2%80%99s-50000-bribe-another-sng-delegate-provides-more-details-orubebe-issues-denial

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SNG: Jonathan Offered Us $50,000 Bribe
•It’s a lie, says Orubebe
By Joseph Ushigiale in Lagos and Ahamefula Ogbu in Abuja, 11.29.2010

Allegations, counter allegations and denials have provoked discourse since the story broke last night following an allegation by Lagos pastor, Tunde Bakare that President Goodluck Jonathan , through his aide, allegedly offered him and his delegation a $50,000 bribe, an accusation that has swiftly been denied and dismissed by the Presidency as a non-issue.

Bakare, who owns a religious outfit, the Latter Rain Assembly and more recently the promoter of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) said he rejected and returned a $50,000 gift to him and the SNG delegation when they visited Jonathan penultimate week in Abuja.

The SNG founder said his delegation had visited Jonathan at the Villa to appraise the President’s  performance in office, adding that having presented a position paper opposing the President’s quest to run in 2011, at the end of the visit, the Minister of the Niger Delta, Chief Godsday Orubebe reportedly offered the delegation $50,000 as bribe which was rejected by the delegation.

But in a statement released in Abuja last night, Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. Godsday Orubebe described as false, the allegation that he offered $50,000 bribe to Save Nigeria Group (SNG).

Orubebe said it was unreasonable for him to have offered such gratification since there was nothing at stake to warrant such an action.

Orubebe said he was distressed by the allegation moreso when SNG leader, Tunde Bakare was a man he has tremendous respect for.

"I am forced to react to these allegations only because I would consider it an insult for anyone to attempt to bribe someone of that stature, visiting with his group, and with, of all sums, 50,000dollars.

Orubebe said the pedigree of the group which rose on its own volition to challenge certain political anomaly in the country was not one that any right thinking person would try to induce.

"So it is hard to believe that any right thinking person would attempt to do so now.  If a bribe is intended to induce someone to either do something, or to refrain from doing it, what in objective terms would I need to bribe the SNG for at this time?

"This is a false story that should be dismissed by all right thinking persons", he concluded

http://www.thisdayonline.info/nview.php?id=188900

Source please, as you know this is a sensitive issue at hand now.

$50,000 GEJ "bribe" it came in $100 Bills. Yinka Odumakin SNG Scribe. Sahara Reporters.
Www.saharareporters.com

This thing is political. Let SNG say why gej attempted to bribe them as bribe is always towards inducing someone to do a thing. Have we forgotten that this SNG through Bakare ENDORSED Buhari as their candidate for 2011 in october this year?

Let SaharaReporters publish the full transcript of their purpoted phone interview with Pastor Bakare. Please.

$50,000 is hardly a bribe in the Nigeria political scene.

Maybe GEJ thought they needed petrol.

OMO IBO:

$50,000 is hardly a bribe in the Nigeria political scene.

Maybe GEJ thought they needed petrol.

Exactly! Who is that cheap? It translates to about 7 million for the whole of the Save Nigeria Group; now thats just bloody ridiculous!
Sahara Reporters is fast descending below the bottom of the gutter.

I just heard on radio that the money that was supposedly returned can no longer be accounted for. . . LOL

OMO IBO:

I just heard on radio that the money that was supposedly returned can no longer be accounted for. . . LOL

That does not even make sense. . . . lol

What exactly did you hear please?

Why are people surprised ? $50 thousand is nothing to these people.anyways,me don know tay tay say our president na thief.

Not sure what part of my comment doesn't make sense.
What I typed is exactly what I heard.

The Government aides denied offering such a bribe. So how can bribe money that never really existed now be declared missing? Who exactly declared the money missing?  The same government aides? The pastors who claim they turned it down?

I said I heard it on radio. Surely, that isn't too hard to comprehend. Or is it??

OMO IBO:

I just heard on radio that the  money that was supposedly returned  can no longer be accounted for. . . LOL

This should earn this person a ban. Where are the biased moderators/

igochopur$:

This should earn this person a ban. Where are the biased moderators/

Why ?

Omo, na wa oooo.

Na so English hard??

i thnk gej is tryin to lobby SNG, we nigeria hav way to turn bad thngs good.such mony is tobig 4 a group,if evry group

Why are people still asking questions about the motives behind the bribe? Abeg you guys should go to Sahara Reporters and read all the claims and counter claims about this scandal before making comments. The Pastor and Odumakin have accused team GEJ of attempting to bribe them, while team GEJ has only concentrated their efforts at discrediting Sahara Reporters but have not come out to tell us that the SNG guys are lying. Reading about the whole incident on SR, it's obvious the SNG guys have more arsenal at their disposal to unleash if team GEJ makes any attempt at blackmailing SNG or tarnishing the images of the SNG personalities involved.
Please read the whole thing first b4 you make ill-informed comments.

^^^^

and SaharaReporters have refused to publish the transcripts of their so called interview with Bakare but went to another website to copy the story of the Ogunmakin person to substantiate their report.

If they did interview Bakare- lets see the full Transcript rather than taking a single quote and using it as an argument and copying stories from other websites.

“But 48 hours after the visit Saharareporters called to inquire if we visited Jonathan, which we confirmed. We then learnt that the meeting leaked through the other party. At that point, it became clear that some people were out to do some dirty job. It was later revealed to us that the story that was actually sold was that we collected money from the Presidency.”

something clearly is going on here. If, as the SNG claims, they didn't want to embarrass the presidency over the issue, and so attempted to cover it up by quietly returning the money, who then is responsible for the leak to SR?

who are the ppl that want ''to do some dirty job?''

The story is all very funny and has a wicked undertone to it, SNG claims Orubebe gave them the money while they were about going out of Aso rock, and insisted they take it according to Odumakin, they later went to their hotels with the alleged "Bribe" and later called another GEJ aide to return it back, funny, why in the first instance didn't they stick to their guns in the parking lot or wherever they were in Aso rock and say "NO WAY" we wont accept any gift or "Bribe", but rather they accepted it, took it to their hotel room and later changed their mind and return it back, and later blew up the story, so funny a tale. For them to have taken it out of Aso rock showed they accepted the "Bribe" but were disappointed that it was only $50,000. Its the same Bakare that attacked Ribadu that he wanted to hijack the organisation for his political ambition, Ribadu had to refute it, Bakare says SNG is not a political organisation but he backs Buhari for president, is that not being political, can we say he won't allow his choice as a person affect the choice of SNG since he is the convener, his actions and attacks on other political aspirants shows this, neither have we forgotten that their was a corrupt toga attached to him by some other members of this same SNG and he was suspended, we also forget this so soon. If SNG rejected a "Bribe" as they said is that not enough why blow it out if not for some selfish motives, most folks now are just taking anything SNG is dishing out now as the real story but the denial by Orubebe is not real, "He is a government man so he must be lying" that's their official position. Abeg make we lef mata jor.

But please what is this fuss about

It is the tradition for the President to offer gift to people who come to visit him in Aso Rock. At least he has non-accountable security votes of several millions every month to accomodate this. I am convinced that the offer to SNG of a paltry $50,000 is not a bribe but a gift. $50,000 is nothing in Nigerian bribe history. Even governorship aspirants offer more!

Let us even try to establish the motive. Is the SNG affiliated to PDP, such that its support will help GEJ beat Atiku at the PDP primaries? What does the average man on the street think or know about SNG?? Do they command a strong followership in Nigeria If at all GEJ will need the SNG, it will be for the general election and not when he is still having some headaches on how to cage Atiku's potent political machineries.

I think there was a communication gap. A gift being misconstrued for bribe.

The president was merely paying his tithe.
I actually took the time out to register with Nairaland today because I just had to share this! I've been following the bribery scandal on-line and I want to know what you guys think about this one: [url]http://www.wazobiareport.com/default.aspx/Alleged-$50,000-bribe-was-actually-tithe[/url]

The bribe, if truly one, can only be for one thing- To keep their [size=20pt]Mouth shut[/size] and not say anything derogatory of Jonathan's presidency with regards to the bolded part.

SNG officials led by Pastor Tunde Bakare met with the president in Aso Rock to discuss the group’s [size=20pt]disappointment with the state of the nation. [/size]

^
Bribe my foot! Why on Earth would anybody bribe SNG? They are not a political party, they cannot tip the PDP primaries one way or the other. Bribe for what? And only N7.5million for a nation wide group. Abeg, make we hear word jare!

Beaf:

^
Bribe my foot! Why on Earth would anybody bribe SNG? They are not a political party, they cannot tip the PDP primaries one way or the other. Bribe for what? And only N7.5million for a nation wide group. Abeg, make we hear word jare!

Defending the indefensible - first you claimed the article was false, now you're saying it wasn't a 'bribe'. Unfortunately, you have joined the senseless bandwagon of claiming it was 'only' 7.5 million, as if stealing 7.5 million of government money is not a crime?

Even if it wasn't a 'bribe', it is a corrupt practice to offer people $50,000 of Nigeria's money for simply coming to visit.

The Bakare I know would have come out to talk on this matter if it was indeed true. We can not rely on a Sahara whatever report to believe this story hook, line and sinker.

If SR realy had aninterview with Bakare- let them publish the full transcript or keep their mouth shut.

Abuja - Wazobia Report has obtained a copy of a secret memo being prepared by the Ministry of information in response to the furore over the alleged $50,000 bribe.

The document, obtained from the notorious website, wikileaks, purports to present Aso Rock's side of the story, even as more members of the Save Nigeria Group, SNG, have been coming forward to substantiate their group's story.

According to the leaked memo, the SNG, led by Pastor Tunde Bakare, was invited to take a tour of Aso Rock and to pray for its occupants. But for some unfathomable reason, members of the group became fixated with a fantasy that they were actually on some sort of official mission to present the president with a report card of his time in office.

The memo stresses that there are no provisions for a group like the SNG to review the president's performance in any official capacity, hence their claim of haven done exactly that, and presented a scathing report, should easily be dismissed as nothing but blatant fantasy.

The author or authors of the memo further pointed out that everyone knows $50,000 is what a senator spends on imported dog food in a month; to claim that this paltry sum was intended as a bribe is thus ridiculous, unwarranted and unreasonable. In all honestly, it goes against the acceptable bribery benchmark in Abuja.

The memo concludes by asserting that the president himself has been consulted on the matter, and while he does not want to join issues with a group of touring guests, he has provided an absolutely convincing explanation of the cash gift.

According to Mr President (allegedly), he agreed to meet with the group out of courtesy. He was however shocked when members of the group started to question him on issues of national security that clearly did not concern them. In respectable presidential manner, however, he listened to them and allowed them to rave and rant, and when they were ready to continue on their tour of the villa, he bade them fair-well and reminded them to pick up their "Aso Rock rocks!" commemorative T-shirts on their way home.

It was at this point that Mr President remembered he had not paid his tithe for the month. Being a very effective man, who is used to multi tasking and killing several birds with one stone, he decided to entrust his tithe with the group, after-all, they were led by a pastor, so it was only reasonable to assume that they were a religious group.

- Joe Aibozaw

this is embarrassing. sounds like some primary school essay.

d drama continues. . .

debosky:

Defending the indefensible - first you claimed the article was false, now you're saying it wasn't a 'bribe'. Unfortunately, you have joined the senseless bandwagon of claiming it was 'only' 7.5 million, as if stealing 7.5 million of government money is not a crime?

Even if it wasn't a 'bribe', it is a corrupt practice to offer people $50,000 of Nigeria's money for simply coming to visit.

Stop telling lies to suit whatever position you hold. Its called dishonesty at best.
I have only said the story is too ridiculous to be worth my time.

^^ Ok I apologise.

Do you consider $50,000 to be a bribe or not? A yes or no will suffice.

Ok it's not bribe,it's EGUNJE.rubbish