Nigeria is in deep trouble with these fraudsters parading as assembly members. Farouk appeared to be an enthusiastic lawmaker but with these revelations the Latin saying "cullucus non facit monachum" - the hood does not make the monk- has once more been validated.
Steve Nwabuzor
Sent from my Samsung Captivate(tm) on AT&T
Mobolaji ALUKO <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
>My people:
>
>Fie, fie, fie, Farouk....it should be easy to ask whether Farouk went to
>Otedola's house (at night?) in the last two to three months or not....why,
>when, how, what for goodness sakes?
>
>Inquiring minds want to know...but I seem to know who I tend to believe in
>this story....this is pretty tiring.
>
>
>Bolaji Aluko
>Shaking his head
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
>
>THIS DAY
>
>Fuel Subsidy Probe: Otedola Confirms Bribe to Lawmakers
>11 Jun 2012
>
>[image: 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.
>
>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
>
>
>PUNCH
>My image in N96m bribe video doctored – Farouk Lawan
>JUNE 11, 2012 BY NIYI ODEBODE AND JOHN AMEH 169
>COMMENTS<http://www.punchng.com/news/my-image-in-n96m-bribe-video-doctored-farouk-lawan/#comments>
>[image: Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the probe of
>fuel subsidy mismanagement, Mr. Farouk Lawan]
>*Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the probe of fuel
>subsidy mismanagement, Mr. Farouk Lawan*
>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
>
>CHAIRMAN of the House of Representatives Committee on the probe of fuel
>subsidy mismanagement, Mr. Farouk Lawan, said on Sunday that the video
>purportedly showing him receiving a bribe from an oil marketer was
> doctored.
>The Lawan committee, which discovered that subsidy thieves had stolen
>N1.7trn from government coffers as a direct consequence of malpractices in
>the oil sector, had been embroiled in bribery scandal since last week.
>A video recording of the bribe deal between the oil marketer and the
>lawmaker is believed to be in the possession of the State Security Service.
>
>However, Lawan said that the allegation that he collected $600,000 from
>the oil marketer to influence the report of the House probe panel was a
>ploy to divert attention from the recommendations of the committee.
>The Rep at a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday said, "I categorically deny
>that I or any member of the committee demanded and received any bribe from
>anybody in connection with the fuel subsidy probe and I believe that this
>is evident from the thorough and in-depth manner the investigation was
>carried out.
>
>"The present mudslinging is not unexpected in view of the calibre of people
>whose actions and inactions were found wanting in the report.
>
>"I am aware that in their desperation to discredit the report and divert
>attention of the public from the real issues of large scale fraud in high
>places established in the report, a video footage displaying a caricature
>of my person allegedly having a dealing with a marketer, reminiscent of the
>military era when dignitaries were invited to the villa to watch a video
>clip of a phantom coup involving Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is already in
>circulation."
>The Sunday briefing was Lawan's first reaction to the alleged scam.
>
>He recalled that he had cried out during the probe that there were
>pressures on the committee and that he alerted the public that a marketer
>"promised to fly in a jet loaded with dollars, which he intended to share
>among the House leadership and members of the ad hoc committee."
>"I did not go to Nnamdi Azikwe Airport or any other place to collect money
>from anybody. The allegation is diversionary," he added.
>
>But a source at the House on Sunday also told one of our correspondents
>that Lawan had confessed to his colleagues in the chamber that he indeed
>collected the said amount from a businessman but that he intended to tender
>same as a bribery evidence.
>
>The source said the other lawmakers, however, did not buy Lawan's
>explanation and declared that "since he collected the money without
>informing them until the lid was blown open on the deal, he would need to
>carry his cross."
>
>The source, a lawmaker also, said the businessman who is also a fuel
>marketer, had reportedly invited the lawmaker to his Lagos residence,
>"where the deal was struck."
>The businessman's firms was indicted by the committee but he allegedly
>offered a $3m bribe to safeguard his business interests.
>
>It was said that the businessman recorded the meeting between him and the
>lawmaker and later refused to pay the balance of the deal after paying the
>initial $600,000 instalment.
>Another source in the House added that after the lid was blown off the
>deal, the leadership of the House summoned the lawmaker for interrogation,
>where he owned up to receiving the money.
>The committee chairman was said to have declared only $300, 000 initially,
>unknown to the leadership that the actual part payment was $600, 000.
>
> "It was after the evidence and facts of the issue were made bare to the
>leadership that he was summoned again and he admitted that indeed the money
>was $600, 000", the second source confided in The PUNCH.
>Chairman of an influential committee of the House confided in our
>correspondent that most members had rated the embattled lawmaker as "a
>smart man", but were surprised that he allowed himself to be ridiculed in
>this manner.
>
> He said, "The sad aspect was how he tried to trick even the leadership by
>declaring only half of the money at first. When the truth came out, he now
>wanted the House to assist him by requesting to present the money on the
>floor as evidence of bribery.
>
>"But, the Speaker (Aminu Tambuwal) said 'no', having been aware of the
>facts that he (Lawan) went to the house of the businessman in Lagos to
>negotiate the bribe.
> "How can you be probing somebody and you went to his house in Lagos to
>negotiate with him. We thought he was smarter than this."
>
>A principal officer of the House disclosed to The PUNCH on Sunday that
>there was no way the entire House would allow itself to be dragged down
>with the lawmaker if he failed to prove his innocence.
>
> The officer said, "The House did not send any individual to go and engage
>himself in such illegality.
>
> "Yes, it is true that we constituted an ad-hoc committee to investigate
>the fuel subsidy scam, but we did not say 'go and commit illegality.'
>
>"So, if he decided to use it as an opportunity to enrich himself, let him
>face the consequences, not the House. This House is not about any single
>individual or sacred cow."
> The SSS could not confirm on Sunday whether it was true that a video
>evidence was with it.
>
>The SSS Deputy Director, Press Relations, Marylyn Ogar, did not pick calls
>to her mobile phone nor reply text message on the subject.
>
>The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it had no record that the
>bibery scandal in the House was being investigated by it.
>Spokesman for the anti-graft agency, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said, "I am not
>aware that the matter is being investigated by the EFCC."
>
>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
>
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