Diezani, Jonathan’s CSO In Alleged US$7m Mobile Stage Scam

Goodluck Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, his Chief Security Office O.J Obuah and Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke spent US$6.9 million buying three 40-feet mobile stages for use during mass public speaking events, a team of federal government’s investigations revealed yesterday. A top Presidency source told State House journalists last night that the investigators discovered that the contract was inflated and that there was no evidence that any stage was purchased at all.

The source quoted the investigators as saying that while the cost of mobile stages ranged in size and designs, only outlandish rock star musicians in Europe and the US spent 100s of thousands on their huge stages way bigger than the 40-feet stages and that those musicians and super stars would not pay over US$2m per stage.

He said the investigators argued that process of procurement of the three mobile stages was neither known to extant Nigerian laws nor were the Offices of the Auditor-General and the Accountant-General in the know.

Daily Trust report continues:

The source also quoted the investigators as saying that “There are no records of this purchase which was carried out late 2011 and that the purchase was carried out only few months after Jonathan “won a general election for a full term after having completed the term of late President Umaru Yar’adua”.

He quoted Jonathan’s CSO who initiated a memo on October 17, 2011 for the contract as writing thus: “My earlier discussion with Your Excellency on the security implication of your public appearances and your subsequent directive on the need to procure a secured presidential platform.”

The source said Jonathan the same day approved the memo and directed Diezani thus: “We have discussed this, please deal.”

“Right after that okay from the president, on the same October 17, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administrative Matters, Matt Aikhionbere did another letter on the strength of the president’s approval requesting the Petroleum Minister to take action on the request to purchase the stages for US$6.9m. By the next month, an NNPC payment voucher number 3840336 was already in place revealing that the money was released. NNPC directed that the money be taken from one of its accounts in New York CITIBANK with sort code CITIUS 33, and Routing number 021000089.

“It was first routed from the US bank to an NNPC account in Zenith Bank account number 5000026593, Maitama branch in Abuja, from where the money was sent to a private account. The sum of $6.9m was then credited to a Sterling Bank account of one J. Marine Logistics Limited, Abuja, a company investigators say was registered by Obuah.
“The CSO himself according to investigators have not been able to show proof of the purchase and his memo irked his bosses at the SSS that he took the initiative to write requesting for the stages, an action which officials say was way above his pay grade...What has happened here is that the former president and the former minister with the collusion of the CSO decided to dip their hands into the public till and steal public funds for other purposes since no one has found the stages as we speak”.

He also quoted the source as saying: “The US$6.9miilion in question was promptly paid on Nov. 29, 2011 into a private account belonging to the former CSO. The former president approved the procurement of the mobile platforms without due process and bye-passing the Procurement Act neither was there an appropriation in the 2011 budget for such facility”
The source also disclosed that neither the minister of Finance nor the Director-General of the Budget Office was aware of the deal.

“Investigators say this is just one of the several instances where the Jonathan administration used secret NNPC accounts to fund many questionable projects and for alleged personal financial aggrandizements. Already the CSO has been questioned over his role and activities in the Jonathan presidency”, he said.

Gordon Obuah’s lawyer, Mr Andrew Seriki who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday last night, said the allegation of fraud was the fraud because no US$6.9 million was taken for any mobile stage purchase.

“This is an allegation calculated to stain people’s image,” Seriki said, adding, “Instead of getting down to work, this government is busy concocting stories to drag people’s name into the mud.”

He said the documents that the ‘government and security sources’ have quoted in the allegations were forgeries if they exist at all, stressing, “The documents are forged if the authors of this story have any documents in the first place. If the documents exist, they should be shown to all Nigerians.