Jonathan denies complicity in alleged N155bn oil block scam

President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, denied his alleged complicity in a N155 billion oil block scandal allegedly involving Shell, ENI subsidiaries in Nigeria, a Nigerian oil firm and a former Petroleum Minister, Mr Dan Etete.
The President who had kept mum since an online news medium, Premium Times, last week, disclosed that it had secured documents revealing how he (Jonathan) okayed the secret payment of N155 billion from the federation account to a private oil company owned by the ex-Minister who was earlier convicted on a money laundering charge, yesterday, described the allegation as baseless, insisting that “it has become necessary to issue a comprehensive response to these allegations to set the records straight.”

The report which was entitled, “Shell’s obscure payments kill its case for weak US and EU transparency laws”, equally alleged that the Federal Government then paid the entire N155 billion to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company owned by Mr. Etete, who was the oil Minister under late General Sani Abacha.
Meanwhile, in a follow-up story, the online news medium, contended that the money was paid on the order of President Jonathan, adding: “Our investigation also indicates that in order to cover up what is clearly one of the most elaborate corruption schemes in Nigeria’s history, the president tapped the junior minister in the Finance Ministry, Yerima Ngama, and Attorney General Mohammed Adoke to hurriedly transfer the funds to Mr. Etete on August 16, 2011, a day before the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, assumed office.”

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