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Calls for the Probe of former President Obasanjo grows stronger.

December 23, 2007

In summary, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are numerous and graded in phases.


We are embarking on tortuous, marathon and risky crusade in order to contribute our little quota in liberating our people from the shackles and bondage of greedy sharks and local imperialists.

Most importantly we took into cognizance of the fact that President Umaru Yaradua is lukewarm, reticent and reactive; rather than proactive in favour of war against corruption.

We waited patiently for over six months, the little we observed was reactions to Wilbros scam in Texas, Metropolitan Police found in United Kingdom, Siemens scandal in Germany and Iyabo-gate in Paris; none emanated from Nigeria, whilst Mr. President is sitting on top of files of monumental corruption.

We commence with petitions of economic and financial crimes against Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Professor Maurice Iwu and Alhaji Adamu Waziri.


Osita Okechukwu
National Publicity Secretary CNPP
10th December 2007
The Chairman,
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),
Wuse, Abuja

Sir,

REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION FOR GROSS FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRIMES COMMITTED BY PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, GCFR. 1999-2007

We wish to request for the investigation and prosecution of the Financial and Economic Crimes committed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, during his tenure 1999 to May 29th 2007.

We also wish to state that as the ex-president and his cronies embarked on abuse of public office for private gain, earning wealth illegally, violation of existing legislation governing government activities, converted State Owned Enterprises and properties into private ownership; we watched helplessly, but waited patiently as Chief Obasanjo swaggered and hid behind immunity contained in section 308 of the 1999 Constitution, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Now that the constitutional immunity of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo did not last forever as he had wished, indeed expired and as the buck stopped at his desk, as provided in section 5 of 1999 Constitution, and since our primary objective is to fight the cancer of corruption which has halted progress in Nigeria; we have no option except to petition the EFCC. More so, when the news in town is that EFCC seems largely to be investigating only the ex-governors and silent on the corrupt practices and abuse of power by the head of the regime, we have to make this clarion call of paying attention to the cost of corruption. As corruption in Nigeria can no longer be classified as nobody’s problem and nobody’s business in particular. While corruption is Nigeria’s cancer; Transparency is the main issue and indeed a national consensus, overriding ethnicity and religion.
 
Consequently, Mr. Chairman, we respectfully, request you to invoke the powers of the Commission as provided in the EFCC Act, to investigate and prosecute Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s clan of lucrative holdings. For the avoidance of doubt, we are embarking on this patriotic crusade for the collective interest of building a clean, sanitized and humane society. We were alarmed early in the regime by the Corruption Perception Index Report of Transparency International that placed Nigeria for consecutive years in the hall of infamy, during the tenure under review. Unfortunately Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was a founding members of Transparency International. And to quote Chief Obasanjo; “Corruption is the greatest bane of Nigeria and that nobody no matter whom would be allowed to get away with the breach of the law or the perpetuation of corruption and evil, as it is no more business as usual”. November 23, 1999.

Since no man is above the law and as we regard corruption as a cancer, even though Chief Obasanjo and his cronies in practice regard it as mother’s milk, we are compelled to demand an end to thievery and mega corruption. For if EFCC fails to investigate, prosecute, forfeit and confiscate the stolen wealth, it might in future be used to buy loyalty, influence the course of events and maintain undue stranglehold on hapless Nigerians. We anchor our request on section 15(5) of the Constitution that stipulates that the State shall abolish corrupt practices and abuse of office.

We also by this petition wish to send strong signal and vital lessons to present and future leaders that intend to embark on looting, hiding under immunity, to think differently; for we appreciate that corrupt, free and sane societies were enthroned when the doctrine of restitution is enforced and appropriate punishment meted out to culprits by agencies like EFCC.

It is pertinent to note that we are not unaware that this is not an end to hyper corruption on grand scale, however we hope it is going to be the first leg of a tortuous and worthwhile journey; as evidence are bound that corruption has negative impact in all positive economic growth indicators.

Mr. Chairman, we hereby earnestly request an investigation and prosecution into the mind boggling primitive accumulation of wealth illegally, executive stealing of state assets and violation of existing legislation governing the economic activities of government in the eight years under Chief Obasanjo which include the following:

1.    OIL DEALS
Let us start by stating that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo during his tenure illegally appointed himself the minister of petroleum resources, contrary to section 147 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Secondly, his activities in the oil industry were shrouded in secrecy, as he never rendered proper accounts of the oil revenue to relevant agencies like the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

Thirdly, it is also on record that  neither Federal Executive Council nor National Assembly was ever presented memoranda or budget of the oil industry.

(a)    Crude Oil Sales: This is the cash cow, where Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and cronies had a filed day, up-to-date record of sales are shrouded in secrecy.

As Petroleum Minister, the transaction detail was only between himself and the Managing Director of NNPC. Our investigation shows that between 2000 and 2006, Nigeria lost over $130billion unaccounted revenue. A thorough investigation will crack the secrecy and reveal the wanton billon of dollars and that had vanished from the sales book.

(b)    Refinery: Briefly Nigeria has four refineries with optimal capacity of 445,000 barrels per day production. The Obasanjo regime in 1999 met the refineries producing below capacity and infact two were non-functional undergoing Turn-Around-Maintenance (TAM). Two major companies were handing the TAM, Chrome Consortium, Port Harcourt Refinery and Total Kaduna refinery, their contracts were controversial for they have no record of specialization in refinery rehabilitation.

Instead of cancellation of the contract, Chief  Olusegun Obasanjo renewed the contracts and promised that by 2004 the rehabilitation would be completed and Nigeria will stop importation of petroleum products.

Between 1999 and 2006 over $ 1billion was spent on refineries rehabilitation. The rehabilitation failed and Nigeria was criminally left at the mercy of international oil market fluctuation as importation of petroleum products became subject of volatility of he exchange rate of the naira to the dollar and prices of oil at the world market.

On this score, we have since confirmed that more than $700m were misappropriated to enrich Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his cronies and to fund his political party, the People Democratic Party (PDP).

Thus being a principal beneficiary of the $700m, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo turned a blind eye to the scandal and the result was that in the twilight of his regime he sold the refineries to his cronies as scraps. For simple logic dictates that equipment is more profitably marketed if functional than sold a scrap. In the case of Kaduna refinery he spent over $200m to repair it and auctioned it at $106m.

In summary, for condoning the mega scandal in the rehabilitation of the refineries, retaining incompetent contractors without sanctions and benefiting from petroleum products importation, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has questions to answer for crimes against Nigerians.

Mr. Chairman, these monies can easily be located in banks, where Chief Obasanjo used proxies and fathom names to acquire dominant shares.

We urge the EFCC to go deeper to exhume the rot in the oil industry, the refinery scam, all deals that strangulated our economy and indeed recover billions of dollars stolen by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his privies. In particular you may wish to study the external firms that audited the account of the NNPC
      
(c)    Unauthorized and Un-appropriate Withdrawals:   In the last eight year Chief Olusegun Obasanjo hand withdrawn over N1trillion (One Trillion Naira), unauthorized and un-appropriated by the National Assembly, from the NNPC account and the Federation Account.

We regard these unauthorized withdrawals as gross economic and financial crime. The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission severally fought to stem the tide of the withdrawals scourge; as a last resort it has no alternative but sue the Executive.

This clearly shows that the cost of corruption under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo reached earth-shaking proportions for an arm of government to resort to court process against its principal. On account of this face-off, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo wrote to the Senate requesting for the dismissal of the Chairman of the RMAFC, Alhaji Hamman Tukru, a dubious request that was turned down.

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2.    PRIVATIZATION OF STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES    
The World Bank in its publication, titled Bureaucrats in Business, a World Bank Policy Research Report, stated that the three minimum conditions for reform or privatization of State Owned Enterprises are viz:

1.    Desirability
2.    Feasibility
3.    Credibility

For the purpose of our petition consequent upon criminal conversation of State Owned Enterprises to private enterprise, we limit ourselves to the 3rd irreducible minimum condition credibility. It states, “we identified three ways to judge a government’s credibility, first credible governments have a reputation for keeping promises, face domestic or constitutional restrictions and Submit to international standards”.       

In this direction, it is our considered view that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was neither transparent nor accountable in the privatization exercise to Nigerians whose commonwealth was privatized.

Here are few examples:

a.    NITEL: This is a State Owned Enterprises that exposed the corruption ridden privatization exercise of the Obasanjo regime. The investors International Limited (ILL) of London is owned by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo cronies and was induced into buying up NITEL. In the process First Bank Plc. was approached to raise the loan for the payment of 10% first payment in to bid of $1.37billion.

    The bank in obedience to Mr. President lent $100m (One Hundred Million Dollars) to ILL, which the company paid as part of the required 10% deposit to Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) in lieu of NITEL shares. The loan became controversial as a lot of questions were raised as it contravened Bank and Other Financial Institution Act (BOFIA) 1991. The BOFIA states clearly that no Bank can give a loan to a single client in excess of 35% of the value of its shareholders fund.

    In the midst of the controversy, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo withdrew $100m from the Federation Account without appropriation by National Assembly to offset NITEL indebtedness to the bank, just before the auction took place.

In defense, the then BPE Chief Nasir El-Rufai, on March 29th 2002 told the Houses of Representative Committee on Communications that the withdrawal from the Federation Account was to rescue NITEL from the brink of collapse!

As noted above, a cursory glance of the promoters of ILL shows clearly that they are Chief Olusegun Obasanjo fronts, as First Bank Plc that exceeded its single obligor credit limit in this instance was protected by the Central Bank because Mr. President was involved. The deal failed as ILL was unable to pay the 51% shares it bidded to BPE, after a lot of extension of time very unusual in such deals.

The aftermath of the ILL fiasco was another bizarre fiasco when BPE nominated Dutch Company with headquarters at a defunct church house called Pentascope.

Pentascope instead of diligently managing NITEL reaped off the revenue reserves of NITEL.

In the event NITEL lost N51billion.

The losers are Nigerians that lost money in the process and at the end of the day Chief Olusegun Obasanjo acquired it for his company Transcorp. The Transcorp NITEL indebtedness from what Transcorp acquired, contrary to the practice of inheriting both assets and liabilities of such enterprises.

The question EFCC will tackle is whether NITEL’s privatization followed due process credibly or was illegally acquired through dubious process and under valued? And  how much was lost by Nigerians?.

b.    ALSCON
The Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) located in Akwa Ibom State was one of those primary companies that were built to enhance our industrial take off.

When the gale of privatization became the fad, it was pushed into the market. The BPE after due process announced and American company BFIG as the preferred bidder having made the highest offer of $410m, Russel a Russian company was the second highest preferred bidder - $205m. the losers are Nigerians who lost the differential between the highest the bidder and the second.

The BFIG agreed to dredge Imo River, inspite of this mouth watering offer, BFIG was shunted out on the flimsy excuse that it did not meet up with the deadline, while in many cases extension was granted. Russel that bidder lower was given the offer.

Russel was paid $160m for the dredging of Imo River, allowed to open escrow account, which BFIG was denied.

The puzzle today is that ALSCON was handed over the Dayson Holding BVI and not Russel. We appeal to EFCC to unravel who owns the offshore company Dayson Holding and how much was paid to Nigeria through the BPE?

The EFCC should go deeper to not only recover the price differential and the $160m paid for dredging Imo River, but possibly revoke the transaction.
   
c.    AJAOKUTA STEEL COMPANY
Ajaokuta Steel Company, Hilton Hotel, NICON Insurance Plc and others were mired in the controversy, in the name of privatization. We urge the EFCC to investigate the transactions to unravel the dirty deals that enveloped the privatization of State Owned Enterprise

d.    Integrated Power Projects and Equipment of University Teaching Hospital:
The seven Niger Delta Integrated Power Projects and Equipment of University Teaching Hospitals, fall under the same category.

Their contracts were awarded by presidential fiat, contract prices over-invoiced, no international competitive bidding and thus due process was not adhered to. They were noble ideas with ignoble intentions.

A total cost of $7.7billion was fleeced off to build substations, transmission lines and gas pipelines have not taken off, while payments had been made. The $1m per mega watt equipment is mired  in specification controversy and is rated as the most expensive.

It means that, Geregu, Omotosho, Papalanto and the seven power projects are without gas pipelines, substations and transmission lines and will not in the near future supply us energy.

On the N27 billion medical equipment supply, it was over-invoiced and only few of the universities listed to benefit have their equipment installed. We strongly suspect fraud.

    e.    EGBIN POWER STATION          
The case of Egbin power privatization is very pathetic, as the 17 companies that bidded for the privatization were sidelined. Even the Japanese company that installed the equipment and bidded was shunted. It was given to a Korean company that never bidded. This is the height of executive recklessness and rip-off.

f.    FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HOUSES
The scandals in the sales of Federal Government Houses consumed a serving minister. Chief Obasanjo went out of his way to sell all Federal Government Houses in Nigeria at pea-nut prices. To the extent that National Assembly quarters were sold, as if no new members will be even enter the National Assembly. It is also ironic that even the ones he bought with over inflated rate in 1999 were also sold below market prices.

It could be recalled that in 1999, he withdraw N3.04b from the Federation Account without appropriation to purchase houses at over valued rates.

In the House of Representatives public hearing, the then minister of state for Finance, Jubril Martins Kuye and Minister of Federal Capital Mohammed Abba Gana, testified that N3.02 billion was used to purchase government houses. The withdrawal without National Assembly appropriation was a breach of section 83 (1) and 80 (4) of the 1999 constitution.
 
g.    POVERTY ALLEVIATION DEAL -10 BILLION
In 1999, Chief Obasanjo released N10b (ten billion naira) for Poverty Alleviation Programme with Chief Tony Anenih as the co-ordinator.

This money instead of being deployed to the programme, was veered off and found its way into private pockets, one of the beneficiaries is Chief Obasanjo.

h.    PLATEAU STATE ECOLOGICAL FUND   
In the heat of EFCC investigation of the then ex-governor of Plateau State Chief Josuha Dariye, he told the world that out of the money being investigated, that he gave N100m to Chief Obasanjo, as campaign fund. In the heat of the altercation between Chief Obasanjo and Alhaji Abubakar atiku, it was revealed that actually Chief Obasanjo paid N50 million to EFCC.. in defense the spokes-person to Chief Obasanjo, Chief Remi Oyo said that Chief Obasanjo only gave Alhaji Atiku the N50m as dash, to pay the Plateau State Government not as a beneficiary. Going by the legitimate earnings of Chief Obasanjo as president, there is no way he can save N50m to dash anybody? For this we demand proper investigation and prosecution not plea-bargain.



i.    PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND BELL CHAIN OF SCHOOLS
The Presidential Library and Bell Chain of School are some of the projects that are set up during Chief Obasanjo’s tenure incidentally. The money he used to build them were from government contractors and business fronts that were illegally given Customs Duty Waivers that ran into billions annually. There is a nexus between the Custom Duty Waiver and the corrupt practices of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as President, for it got to stage where he was the only one who authorized customs waiver.

According to the record of the Comptroller-General of Customs Services, Nigeria lost an average of N50 billion to waiver authorized by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo  annually; totally over N400 billion in eight years.

The N6.4 billion raised by the organizes of the Presidential Library; was a big scam as it was indirectly sourced from public fund. The library and Bell Chain of Schools must be fortified to the Federal Government of Nigeria as the bonafide owner.

j.    200M TRANSCORP SHARES
Chief Obasanjo abuse of power and corrupt enrichment was never exposed in any transaction more than in the acquisition of 200 million shares of Transcorp plc, for we are aware that out of prison in 1998, the man was going by his own account worth less than 20,000 naira in cash. His farm was near bankruptcy and even campaign funds were bankrolled by later beneficiaries of the monumental corruption that trailed the regime.   

The outcome is that two cronies who served as Power Ministers under Obasanjo ended up installed as governors of Ondo and Cross Rivers States, while Nigeria is in utter darkness.



Conclusion:
We appeal to EFCC not to abandon its mandate, for failure to investigate and prosecute Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his cronies and possibly confiscate their illegally acquired properties, will send wrong signals and endorse wanton stealing of public assets.

We demand nothing but Restitution and commensurate sanctions not plea-bargain, for sins of corruption will always be with us and greed will find its path until citizens demand an end to looting and asset stripping.

Once more we wish to reiterate that by this petition we are sending strong signals and vital lessons to present and future leaders that habour in mind, to embark on corrupt practices hiding under the immunity clause or PDP family cover, to think twice.

We shall furnish information and documents as we progress in the investigation and prosecution.

Ours in War Against Corruption.

For and on behalf of Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP):
 

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