@JA, we're now moved to DPR to also make a submission there. We're now at DPR office, 7 Kofo Abayomi street, VI.
I don't post my number on the forum, but I just sent it to you by private message. You can also ping me on bb: 229E8D91
Printable View
@JA, we're now moved to DPR to also make a submission there. We're now at DPR office, 7 Kofo Abayomi street, VI.
I don't post my number on the forum, but I just sent it to you by private message. You can also ping me on bb: 229E8D91
Fuel Subsidy Probe: Otedola Confirms Bribe
to Lawmakers
11 Jun 2012
Font Size: a / A
B2304212-Femi-Otedola,.jpg -
B2304212-Femi-Otedola,.jpg
Mr. Femi Otedola
•SSS sends videotape to EFCC
By Yemi Ajayi in Lagos, Ike Abonyi, Onwuka
Nzeshi and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The full details of the $3 million bribery
scandal involving members of the House of
Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the
Fuel Subsidy probe were revealed
yesterday, as one of the major actors in the
scandal has opened up on what transpired.
In an exclusive interview with THISDAY,
chairman, Zenon Petroleum & Gas Ltd, Mr.
Femi Otedola, who hitherto was suspected
of being behind the $3 million bribery
scandal, blew the lid on what transpired and
how chairman of the ad-hoc committee,
Hon. Farouk Lawan, and the secretary of the
committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, had
collected $620,000 from him in a sting
operation masterminded by the security
agencies.
The amount was part payment for the $3
million, which he alleged Lawan had
demanded from him to exonerate Zenon Oil
from the ad-hoc committee’s report.
As the scandal unfolds, it was learnt that
operatives of the State Security Services
have sent a video recording of the incident
to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission for further scrutiny and action.
Otedola, who was opening up on the issue
for the first time, narrated how Lawan at
the outset of the probe had approached
him to get some insight into the workings
of the downstream oil and gas sector.
Otedola said he obliged him and ensured
that his managing directors of Forte Oil Plc
and Zenon Oil appeared at the subsidy
probe during its public hearing after both
companies had been invited by the
committee.
During the probe, he said the committee
was informed in no uncertain terms that
Zenon does not and has never made claims
for subsidy payments from the federal
government, as the company was engaged
solely in the importation of diesel, a product
that is not subsidised.
Zenon’s managing director, Mr. Kanmi
Kareem Otaru, during the probe had denied
that the company had anything to do with
the subsidy regime. He told the committee,
“For the avoidance of doubt Zenon never
participated or benefited from the subsidy
scheme or Petroleum Support Fund (PSF).”
According to him, going by the Act which
established the PSF scheme, “Zenon couldn’t
participate in it because we don’t have a
network of PMS retail outlets which was one
of the key criteria beneficiaries must meet
and as such we are not qualified to
participate to draw from subsidy payments
on PMS. So we never collected as records
will show.”
Irrespective of the clarification made at the
hearing, Otedola said Lawan still
approached him a few days before the
report was to be tabled on April 18, 2012
before the House of Representatives,
demanding money so that Zenon’s name
will be kept out of the report.
“When this happened, I was very angry and
reminded him that Zenon has never
participated in the subsidy scheme and that
it would be criminal to rope in the company
for something it did not do.
“But Lawan responded, stating that several
other marketers were playing ball and had
offered the members of the committee
large sums of money to ensure that their
companies’ names were not published in
the report,” he added.
Otedola, said initially he balked at Lawan’s
attempt to extort money from him and told
the legislator that he would not pay up, as
Zenon had not committed any crime.
“Then a day before the report was to be
submitted, Lawan called again, informing
me that Zenon’s name had been included in
the report.
“I, of course, was very angry and asked him
to desist from his course of action, but
Lawan insisted that I must pay up as other
oil marketers had done before me.”
Otedola said he could not believe his eyes
the next day when the report came out and
Zenon’s name had been listed under the
category of companies that had bought
foreign exchange from the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) but had not imported petrol.
The amount ascribed to Zenon in the report
was $232,975,385.13. The report had
recommended that Zenon and 14 other
marketers that had bought the foreign
exchange be referred to the anti-corruption
agencies to determine what they used the
monies for.
Otedola said at this point he again called
Lawan demanding that Zenon’s name be
removed from the list, as there was no way
his company could have bought that
volume of foreign exchange without
importing products.
“I reminded him that the amount ascribed
to Zenon was wrong as what the company
bought was over $400 million for
importation of products through the banks
– Zenith, UBA and GTB – and that under
Sanusi (CBN governor) there was no way
anyone could have bought that quantity of
foreign exchange and not imported the
products having filled the Form M.
“Sanusi will simply clamp down on anyone
who tries to pull that kind of stunt,” he said.
In spite of this, Otedola said Lawan still
demanded that the members of the
committee be given money in exchange for
removing Zenon’s name from the report
before it is considered in plenary by the
entire House.
Otedola said he then asked how much
would be required to make the committee
happy, to which Lawan responded $3
million.
“I screamed at him, demanding to know
why he was doing this to me. All he said
was other marketers were paying up to
keep their names out of the report so I
should do likewise,” he said.
Otedola revealed that it was this point he
decided to involve the security agencies to
catch Lawan and his committee with their
hands in the till.
According to him, “As a law-abiding citizen, I
decided to involve the security agencies
and they advised me to play along, which
prompted me to offer to pay part of the
money with the promise that I would pay
the balance when my company’s name had
been removed from the report."
The security agencies, he disclosed, gave
him serialised dollar bills for the sting job
and there are call logs, video and audio
recordings in the possession of the
agencies to confirm all that had transpired
between himself and Lawan.
He said on April 21, the Saturday before the
plenary, Lawan came in person to his
residence and collected $250,000 in cash, as
the first instalment, “then the next Monday
night he came and collected another $
250,000.
“On Tuesday, at 9am, just before the House
commenced seating, Boniface came and
collected another $120,000.”
Otedola confirmed that during the sting,
Lawan and Boniface collected a total of $
620,000 in three instalments as part of the $
3 million demanded from him.
He added that with the $620,000 that had
been extorted by Lawan and the committee,
during the plenary, Zenon’s name was
removed from the list of companies that
had bought foreign exchange but did not
import products.
Otedola continued: “He (Lawan) now asked
for the balance of $2.5 million, but when I
told him that I had no money now that the
money was in Lagos, he suggested that I
should charter a plane to fly the money
from Lagos to Abuja.”
Otedola stressed that his decision to get the
law enforcement and security agencies
involved stemmed from the fact that he had
not broken any law, maintaining that as a
law-abiding citizen, he was saddened by the
fact that he was being blackmailed by of all
people, members of the legislature.
“If you have information that an armed
robber is come to raid your home, won’t
you notify the police? So, that was the
purpose of the sting operation.
“Besides, my integrity is paramount to me. I
started selling petroleum products 14 years
ago in drums and somebody who has
never run a petrol station is trying to
blackmail and extort money from me.
“If others (marketers) have paid money,
maybe they are guilty. But I did not do
anything wrong, so why should they extort
money from me? As a law-abiding citizen, I
had to involve the security agencies.
Indeed, I’m very disappointed because I
have worked hard to build my business.”
Insisting that he had nothing to hide or fear
over what had happened, Otedola
maintained if he was in the wrong he
would not have involved the security
agencies in the first instance.
In a reference to the strong denials made
by Lawan since the scandal became public,
Otedola stated, “When he (Lawan)
demanded the bribe, I called the agencies.
That is because I had nothing to hide. When
the bribe was paid, why did he not call and
report it to the agencies if he had nothing
to.”
Meanwhile, THISDAY gathered that the
videotape of the illicit transaction had been
sent to the EFCC to investigate the incident.
When contacted, the EFCC, however, said it
had neither received the videotape nor had
it commenced investigations into the
bribery scandal.
EFCC Head of the Media Unit, Mr. Wilson
Uwugiaren, said the allegation had not been
brought to the knowledge of the
commission.
According to him, the only related matter
currently being handled by the EFCC was the
report of the ad-hoc committee that the
commission was studying to establish the
facts and track down anyone found
culpable for the alleged mismanagement of
the PSF.
Fuel Subsidy Probe: Otedola Confirms Bribe
to Lawmakers
11 Jun 2012
Font Size: a / A
B2304212-Femi-Otedola,.jpg -
B2304212-Femi-Otedola,.jpg
Mr. Femi Otedola
•SSS sends videotape to EFCC
By Yemi Ajayi in Lagos, Ike Abonyi, Onwuka
Nzeshi and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The full details of the $3 million bribery
scandal involving members of the House of
Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the
Fuel Subsidy probe were revealed
yesterday, as one of the major actors in the
scandal has opened up on what transpired.
In an exclusive interview with THISDAY,
chairman, Zenon Petroleum & Gas Ltd, Mr.
Femi Otedola, who hitherto was suspected
of being behind the $3 million bribery
scandal, blew the lid on what transpired and
how chairman of the ad-hoc committee,
Hon. Farouk Lawan, and the secretary of the
committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, had
collected $620,000 from him in a sting
operation masterminded by the security
agencies.
The amount was part payment for the $3
million, which he alleged Lawan had
demanded from him to exonerate Zenon Oil
from the ad-hoc committee’s report.
As the scandal unfolds, it was learnt that
operatives of the State Security Services
have sent a video recording of the incident
to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission for further scrutiny and action.
Otedola, who was opening up on the issue
for the first time, narrated how Lawan at
the outset of the probe had approached
him to get some insight into the workings
of the downstream oil and gas sector.
Otedola said he obliged him and ensured
that his managing directors of Forte Oil Plc
and Zenon Oil appeared at the subsidy
probe during its public hearing after both
companies had been invited by the
committee.
During the probe, he said the committee
was informed in no uncertain terms that
Zenon does not and has never made claims
for subsidy payments from the federal
government, as the company was engaged
solely in the importation of diesel, a product
that is not subsidised.
Zenon’s managing director, Mr. Kanmi
Kareem Otaru, during the probe had denied
that the company had anything to do with
the subsidy regime. He told the committee,
“For the avoidance of doubt Zenon never
participated or benefited from the subsidy
scheme or Petroleum Support Fund (PSF).”
According to him, going by the Act which
established the PSF scheme, “Zenon couldn’t
participate in it because we don’t have a
network of PMS retail outlets which was one
of the key criteria beneficiaries must meet
and as such we are not qualified to
participate to draw from subsidy payments
on PMS. So we never collected as records
will show.”
Irrespective of the clarification made at the
hearing, Otedola said Lawan still
approached him a few days before the
report was to be tabled on April 18, 2012
before the House of Representatives,
demanding money so that Zenon’s name
will be kept out of the report.
“When this happened, I was very angry and
reminded him that Zenon has never
participated in the subsidy scheme and that
it would be criminal to rope in the company
for something it did not do.
“But Lawan responded, stating that several
other marketers were playing ball and had
offered the members of the committee
large sums of money to ensure that their
companies’ names were not published in
the report,” he added.
Otedola, said initially he balked at Lawan’s
attempt to extort money from him and told
the legislator that he would not pay up, as
Zenon had not committed any crime.
“Then a day before the report was to be
submitted, Lawan called again, informing
me that Zenon’s name had been included in
the report.
“I, of course, was very angry and asked him
to desist from his course of action, but
Lawan insisted that I must pay up as other
oil marketers had done before me.”
Otedola said he could not believe his eyes
the next day when the report came out and
Zenon’s name had been listed under the
category of companies that had bought
foreign exchange from the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) but had not imported petrol.
The amount ascribed to Zenon in the report
was $232,975,385.13. The report had
recommended that Zenon and 14 other
marketers that had bought the foreign
exchange be referred to the anti-corruption
agencies to determine what they used the
monies for.
Otedola said at this point he again called
Lawan demanding that Zenon’s name be
removed from the list, as there was no way
his company could have bought that
volume of foreign exchange without
importing products.
“I reminded him that the amount ascribed
to Zenon was wrong as what the company
bought was over $400 million for
importation of products through the banks
– Zenith, UBA and GTB – and that under
Sanusi (CBN governor) there was no way
anyone could have bought that quantity of
foreign exchange and not imported the
products having filled the Form M.
“Sanusi will simply clamp down on anyone
who tries to pull that kind of stunt,” he said.
In spite of this, Otedola said Lawan still
demanded that the members of the
committee be given money in exchange for
removing Zenon’s name from the report
before it is considered in plenary by the
entire House.
Otedola said he then asked how much
would be required to make the committee
happy, to which Lawan responded $3
million.
“I screamed at him, demanding to know
why he was doing this to me. All he said
was other marketers were paying up to
keep their names out of the report so I
should do likewise,” he said.
Otedola revealed that it was this point he
decided to involve the security agencies to
catch Lawan and his committee with their
hands in the till.
According to him, “As a law-abiding citizen, I
decided to involve the security agencies
and they advised me to play along, which
prompted me to offer to pay part of the
money with the promise that I would pay
the balance when my company’s name had
been removed from the report."
The security agencies, he disclosed, gave
him serialised dollar bills for the sting job
and there are call logs, video and audio
recordings in the possession of the
agencies to confirm all that had transpired
between himself and Lawan.
He said on April 21, the Saturday before the
plenary, Lawan came in person to his
residence and collected $250,000 in cash, as
the first instalment, “then the next Monday
night he came and collected another $
250,000.
“On Tuesday, at 9am, just before the House
commenced seating, Boniface came and
collected another $120,000.”
Otedola confirmed that during the sting,
Lawan and Boniface collected a total of $
620,000 in three instalments as part of the $
3 million demanded from him.
He added that with the $620,000 that had
been extorted by Lawan and the committee,
during the plenary, Zenon’s name was
removed from the list of companies that
had bought foreign exchange but did not
import products.
Otedola continued: “He (Lawan) now asked
for the balance of $2.5 million, but when I
told him that I had no money now that the
money was in Lagos, he suggested that I
should charter a plane to fly the money
from Lagos to Abuja.”
Otedola stressed that his decision to get the
law enforcement and security agencies
involved stemmed from the fact that he had
not broken any law, maintaining that as a
law-abiding citizen, he was saddened by the
fact that he was being blackmailed by of all
people, members of the legislature.
“If you have information that an armed
robber is come to raid your home, won’t
you notify the police? So, that was the
purpose of the sting operation.
“Besides, my integrity is paramount to me. I
started selling petroleum products 14 years
ago in drums and somebody who has
never run a petrol station is trying to
blackmail and extort money from me.
“If others (marketers) have paid money,
maybe they are guilty. But I did not do
anything wrong, so why should they extort
money from me? As a law-abiding citizen, I
had to involve the security agencies.
Indeed, I’m very disappointed because I
have worked hard to build my business.”
Insisting that he had nothing to hide or fear
over what had happened, Otedola
maintained if he was in the wrong he
would not have involved the security
agencies in the first instance.
In a reference to the strong denials made
by Lawan since the scandal became public,
Otedola stated, “When he (Lawan)
demanded the bribe, I called the agencies.
That is because I had nothing to hide. When
the bribe was paid, why did he not call and
report it to the agencies if he had nothing
to.”
Meanwhile, THISDAY gathered that the
videotape of the illicit transaction had been
sent to the EFCC to investigate the incident.
When contacted, the EFCC, however, said it
had neither received the videotape nor had
it commenced investigations into the
bribery scandal.
EFCC Head of the Media Unit, Mr. Wilson
Uwugiaren, said the allegation had not been
brought to the knowledge of the
commission.
According to him, the only related matter
currently being handled by the EFCC was the
report of the ad-hoc committee that the
commission was studying to establish the
facts and track down anyone found
culpable for the alleged mismanagement of
the PSF.
wait for me there.
im wearing a shell cover all
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bebrief
WORK WELL DONE TO MY GREAT PEOPLE OF LAGOS
Determination is that term that makes the needed difference between people.
We may have gone to school and probably came out with flying colors, but its not enough.
Determination will make u a distinguished, especially in a just course.
Thank you to my fellow comrades, who in spite of all odds made it a success.
It was a favorable outing by the last comrades standing at 22 milverton street at about 11:32 am
when the Lagos zonal HR manager Mrs Erile spoke to us after her calls to Abuja.
Lessons have being learnt in no small measure.
@All: JA was there, but did not show face openly.
But fear causes havoc.
God, thank u for being with us from the beginning to the end. I reference you 4ever.
@JA, thanks for showing up at DPR office at the meek of time.. Let's call it a day.
Welldone debrief @ Co. thanks for the great job.
what do you mean by did not show face openly?Quote:
Originally Posted by 4gkevin
We must appreciate some of us who made it to the peaceful protest at NNPC offices, God bless u. We are happy for the news from the lagos HR that soonest we shall be called based on the calls to Abuja. I strongly bliv that this outing will surely yield good news for us, our efforts would not be in vain by the grace of GOD. I also forwarded an appeal letter to NNPC thru its CONTACT link on www.nnpcgroup.com which I strongly bliv it would be seen.
^^^whatever that means.
Congrats all comrades.
Atleast the likes of abcd123-kindergaten now know that we are no jokers.
Also NNPC/DPR also know that sweeping the recruitment under carpet may not go unquestioned.
Other agencies should now be wary of any recruitment scam.
This is the piece of write-up I sent to NNPC
APPEAL FOR RELEASE OF 2010/2011 NNPC RECRUITMENT APPOINTMENTS.
While commiserating with you on the loss of your staff at the recent plane crash, we are using this opportunity to inform you that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) , a corporation under your supervision is yet to offer the successful candidates their appointments in the recruitment exercise it started since November, 2010.This is very disheartening as our hope in the federal government’s campaign for job creation is being dashed.
Our thinking was that the calls for job offers would not been longer than now as soon as President Goodluck Jonathan signed the 2012 Appropriation Bill into law but to our dismay the young Nigerians who did well in the interview that was conducted between July and August, 2011 are still lingering for their appointments at the public company.
Even the transportation reimbursements promised by NNPC are yet to be paid, honestly, we do not know what has gone wrong on this recruitment.
We are strongly appealing your Excellency to take drastic step to resolve this matter in line with Mr. President’s transformation agenda .
Thank you.
Yours truly,
The Concerned Candidates.
Tanx 2all d hopefuls who were able 2make it 2day 2d various protest venues though many couldnt make it. A very big point has been scored 2day. At least its now clear dat d process in on course & not cancelled as some people were deceitfully made to believe by mischief makers. Secondly d NNPC management now knows dat its not all d hopefuls dat have gone 2sleep 2give them room for "Business as Usual". To those still intending to reconvene on a later date, dats equally good a good idea as it will equally help to buttress the matter. Once again kudos 2all that was part of this great exercise. It has achieved quite a lot though some of us might not be aware of the enormous impact we have made. Jah Bless!!!
Wiaz dat dirty son of a gun ABCD W??????????? nt out and tok naw wen we hav succeeded in d protest useless mumu d biggest fool on d thread infact in d world. Idiot...... Shame go soon catch u.