Plunder, squander and pillage (Continuation)

What you should know:

Senator Abdul Ningi from Bauchi Central ignited controversy among federal legislators with claims of budget padding, accusing some members of acquiring disproportionate funds for constituency projects:

-For instance, Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe, during a session on the Senate floor, revealed that senior senators were allocated N500 million each in the 2024 budget.

-Moreover, the Red Chamber suspended Senator Abdul Ningi for accusing the Senate of budget padding with no evidence to demonstrate the validity of his allegations.

-Ningi was suspended for three months.

-The Red Chamber’s decision came after Adeola Olamilekan, the Senate Committee on Appropriations Chairman, raised a point of order during a plenary meeting.

Read also: Senate refutes Kawu claims of N21m salary, allowances

Tinubu thanked members of the National Assembly for tolerance, forgiveness during Ramadan.

The retired partners of KPMG were taken on a guided tour of properties formerly owned by the Nigerian government (or its agencies) in London. It was heart-wrenching.

The first port of call was 15A Kensington Palace Gardens, South Kensington in one of the most exclusive parts of London. What followed was 5, Buckingham Palace Gate, right on the doorstep of King Charles’ abode at Buckingham Palace.

Next was 32 Chapel Street in Belgravia.

At the end of the day, we were too exhausted to take on the long list of properties previously owned by Nigerian Produce Marketing Board; Nigeria Airways; Nigerian Railways; Nigerian Ports Authority; Electricity Corporation of Nigeria / Nigerian Electricity Power Authority; Nigerian Shipping Line; First Bank of Nigeria Plc; Union Bank of Nigeria Plc; United Bank for Africa; National Bank of Nigeria Plc; African Continental Bank Plc; All States Trust Bank Plc; Pank African Bank Plc; International Bank for West Africa Plc.

Flashing on the LED mega television screen in the main conference room was “BREAKING NEWS”:

“JUST IN: FBI charges top NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) official for taking US$ 2.1 million bribes to help Addax Petroleum escape U.S.$2.4 billion liability to Nigeria.

“The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, found that Okoronkwo, a former general manager in NNPC’s upstream department, used his position to obtain at least $2.1 million in bribes from Addax Petroleum, under the ownership of Sinopec and based in Switzerland, to assist the company avoid a $2.4 billion liability to Nigeria as part of an oil-lifting contract that began in 2001.

A jury recently returned the three-count indictment against the 67 years old Mr Okoronkwo before the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

In a reaction in Port Harcourt, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, hailed the FBI for the action against the NNPC former executive as it condemned the exploitation of Nigeria’s resources by individuals entrusted with positions of authority, which disproportionately affects the majority of citizens.

A dual citizen of Nigeria and the U.S., Mr Okoronkwo is reported to have practised immigration and personal injury law in California for nearly 30 years.

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On May 25, 2015, just days before President Goodluck Jonathan was due to exit office on May 29, Mr Okoronkwo and other NNPC officials hurriedly entered into an agreement that would see Addax Petroleum return to developing Nigeria’s crude and gas reserves after a protracted pause due to a year long dispute over the 2001 deal between Nigeria and the Chinese firm.

Court documents said Addax Petroleum, based in Switzerland but owned by Sinopec, bribed Mr Okoronkwo with $5,263,157.89, including an immediate payment of $2,105,263.16, in October 2015 after the new administration of Muhammadu Buhari threatened the May 2015 contract.

Prosecutors did not immediately say whether or not Mr Okoronkwo received the balance from Addax, which might have been paid through other channels that may or may not pass through the U.S. financial system.

The $2.1 million payment was made via a wire transfer to Mr Okoronkwo’s law firm bank account in the U.S, court documents further stated.

It was purportedly billed for “Consultants for the negotiation and completion of a Settlement Agreement with NNPC” with respect to Addax’s dispute over drilling rights, prosecutors said in the indictment first alleged before a grand jury in June 2023.

Mr Okoronkwo helped Addax navigate the challenges from the Buhari administration that initially tried to impose a $2.37 billion liability on the Chinese firm, filings said.

Read also: Senate probes $1.5bn spent on rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery in 2021

“Addax had calculated that the failure to apply the side letter prospectively would cost Addax approximately $2.37 billion,” the indictment said. Mr Okoronkwo was using his U.S. law firm to purportedly represent Nigeria against NNPC, where he was also working as a general manager in charge of crude oil transactions.

Both Mr Okoronkwo and Addax made several efforts to conceal the bribe payment as legitimate, and a senior vice-president of the company was fired on July 13, 2016, for questioning the $2.1 million illicit transaction.

Authorities also filed obstruction and tax-evasion charges against Mr Okoronkwo for lying to investigators about the nature of the deal while also failing to pay taxes on it in his 2016 returns.