There seems to be no end to the Pandora’s box that is the monumental corruption that took place under the watch of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan with the latest revelation of a $115 million (N23,299,705,000 billion) 2015 election bribery scandal.
This time, the scandal directly involves embattled former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, her son – Ugonna – Fidelity Bank Plc and four other companies.
Already, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which is probing the scandal, has detained two top officials of the bank while a manhunt for the former minister’s son is ongoing.
The bank officials arrested by the EFCC are Fidelity Bank Managing Director, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo and the bank’s Head of Operations, Mr. Martin Izuogbe.
The list of all beneficiaries, who received funds through Fidelity Bank branches nationwide, was being compiled last night, The Nation reports.
The four companies implicated in the bribe-for-results scandal – Northern Belt Gas Company Limited; Auctus Integrated; Midwestern Oil and Gas; and Leno Laitan Adesanya are also under probe.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Cross River State, Gesil Khan and four others are undergoing interrogation over the N681million they allegedly got from the bribe too.
Khan was alleged to have received a sum of N185, 842,000 from the deal.
The other suspects and the alleged bribe against their names are Fidelia Omoile (Electoral Officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area of Delta State) – N112,480,000; Uluochi Obi Brown (INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Delta State) – N111,500,000; a former Deputy Director of INEC in Cross River State, Edem Okon Effanga – N241,127,000 and the Head of Voter Education in INEC in Akwa Ibom, Immaculata Asuquo – N214,127,000.
The newspaper reports that during its preliminary investigations, the anti-graft agency discovered that the sum of N23.29 billion was shared to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in all the 36 states, some individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), which deployed election monitors.
A source in EFCC, who spoke in confidence with The Nation correspondent, said: “We are looking at a case of conspiracy between Fidelity Bank and the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to bribe INEC officials to rig the 2015 presidential election nationwide.
“There was a time Diezani invited the MD of Fidelity Bank Nnamdi Okonkwo and told him that the owners of the four companies will come and drop some money and the MD should keep the money separately and await instructions on what to do.
“The companies gave these amounts to the MD of Fidelity Bank as follows: Northern Belt Gas Company Limited ($60m); Auctus Integrated ($17,884,000); Midwestern Oil and Gas ($9.5m); and Leno Laitan Adesanya ($1.85m).
“On her part, Diezani sent $25.77 million (approximately $26m) to the MD with all the funds totaling $115million (N23, 299,705,000billion).
“A day or two before the presidential election, she gave a distribution list to the Fidelity Bank Plc MD and instructed that the $115million be changed into Naira and shared to INEC officials in the 36 states, some individuals and NGOs.
“The MD said there was no way the bank could meet up with the conversion of the $115million into Naira and distribute at the same time. Diezani pleaded with the MD to use the Naira in the bank’s vault. She said if the bank changed the dollars later, it could make Naira replacement. That was how the money was distributed to INEC officials in 36 states, some individuals and NGOs.
“The MD instructed the bank’s Head of Operations, Martin Izuogbe, to communicate with all Fidelity Bank branches to effect the distribution of the cash to alter the presidential election poll results”.
The source added: “We have arrested and detained the MD of Fidelity Bank since Monday. But we picked up the Head of Operations on Wednesday.
“They are undergoing intense grilling and we may not release them until we have completed investigations.
“About N681million out of the funds was disbursed to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Cross River State and four others.
“It is obvious that more Resident Electoral Commissioners and INEC officials will soon be invited for interrogation”.
On the manhunt for Mrs. Diezani’s son, the top source added: “Ugonna Madueke was at the meeting in her mother’s house when everything was perfected with the MD of the bank. He allegedly gave some instructions too.
“We are looking for him for interaction”.
