$2.1bn arms deals: N1.5bn traced to ex-minister’s son

Dasuki’s ex-aide loses embassy job 

A bureau de change operator has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)   that N1.5billion was paid into his account for the son of a former Minister of Finance.

Salisu Umaru said he did not know what the minister’s son used the cash for. The former minister and his son were not named “so as not to jeopardize the investigation”. The cash is believed to be part of the $2.1 billion “phony” arms deals funds.

Also at the weekend, it was learnt that the army has replaced one of its officers under probe for the phony arms deals, Col. Nicholas Ashinze, with Col. M.A. Abdullahi as the nation’s military attaché to Germany.

Col. Ashinze is to refund N7.3million, which was paid to him as estacode and air fares.

Salisu, who  gave the EFCC details of how the N1.5billion was wired into his company’s account, said he never knew what the cash from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was meant for.

He said : “I was invited by EFCC and when I reported, I was shown my company’s account statement with Zenith Bank called Jabama Ada Global Nigeria Limited in which there was an inflow of N500million on 5/2/2015 and N1billion on 16/4/2015 into the account from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

“On the inflow of N500million into my company’s account  on 5/2/2015, I wish to state as follows : That on the same date(5/2/2015), I paid the equivalent of US$2,380,952 to the son of the minister, being the equivalent of the said N500million at the rate of N210 per dollar.

“I do not know what he used the money for. My own business is to buy and sell dollars. It  is only the minister’s son that can explain what the money was meant for. The minister’s son signed and collected the said N500million.

“On the N1billion inflow into my company’s account on 16/4/2015, I wish to say the money was disbursed as follows: $1,000,000, being the equivalent of N220million; and $327,000 (equivalent of N72,600,000) were paid cash to the son of the minister while the sum of N704,400,000 was transferred to various accounts based on the instruction of the minister’s son. He gave some of the instructions through text messages. Some of the instructions were also received from the father.

“I also want to state that I do not know what the N1billion was meant for and what it was used for.”

Col. M.A. Abdullahi’s initial nomination for the job was turned  down by a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah.

Gen. Minimah was said to have favoured Col. Ashinze because he speaks German fluently.

Col. Ashinze had been ordered by the army to refund N7.3million, including an estacode of N6million and N1.3milion air fares.

But the embattled former military aide to Col. Dasuki asked the army to prevail on the EFCC to lift the restriction on his account to be able to refund the cash.

A top source said: “Ashinze has been replaced with Col. M.A. Abdullahi as Defence Attaché to Germany because the EFCC is yet to conclude investigation of some military officers.

“In fact, Ashinze was replaced as soon a he was shortlisted for interrogation and before the EFCC began his drilling.

“While in EFCC’s custody, the military police brought the letter asking him to refund the N7.3million allowances. He said the army should lift the ban placed on his account to effect refund of the money.”

’National Assembly and the National budget

Senate President Bukola Saraki has reiterated the commitment of the Senate to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to fight corruption.

Saraki insisted that “under my watch, the Senate will never cover corruption except if the information didn’t come to us”.

A statement by the Special Assistant to Senate President on Public Affairs, Muhammed Isa, said that Saraki stated this while speaking with a team of editors of the London-based The Economist  at the weekend.

It said  Saraki reiterated that the Senate is ever ready to partner with President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the success of the anti-corruption war.

The Senate, he said, had already demonstrated such commitment through its interventions on many alleged corrupt transactions, such as its swift investigation and adoption of a report on the management of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) that saved the nation about N7billion and the exposure of the inconsistencies in the 2016 budget.

The step, he said, was a departure from the past where such reports were either watered-down or not presented for debate and adoption.

The Senate President said Nigerians would in the next few weeks be availed with the details of the National Assembly budget.

He said: “For the first time we promised Nigerians to give out  our budget breakdown. The committee will make its report available by next week. We are resolved to break the tradition of one line item.”

Buhari to wage war against power destroyers

The Federal Government has described the shutdown of the national transmission facility in Osogbo and Ikeja Disco by some unionists as an economic sabotage.

It warned yesterday that pipeline vandals and power infrastructure saboteurs will be punished.

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave the warning in a statement issued in Abuja by his Special Adviser, Segun Adeyemi.

He said the repeated attacks on oil and gas pipelines and wilful shutdown of power facilities by protesters amount to economic sabotage.

Mohammed added that these have combined to drastically reduce power generation/transmission and fuel supplies, stressing that no government would tolerate saboteurs.

His words: “Vandals, whatever their motives are, cannot and will not be treated with kid-gloves because their actions constitute a clear and present danger to the nation’s economic, social and political well being.

“The attack on the Forcados Export Terminal that has affected gas production by oil firms and reduced gas supply to power generating plants and the shutdown of the Utorogu gas plant are totally condemned and cannot be allowed to continue.

“Also, while this administration will not do anything to abridge the constitutional rights of any individual or group to carry out protests, it will also not tolerate a situation in which anyone will hide under the guise of legitimate protests to sabotage power infrastructure.

“The shutdown of the national transmission facility in Osogbo and the Ikeja Disco by some unionists amount to economic sabotage,” he said.

Mohammed said the government was aware that as it steps up the fight against corruption, “corruption will vigorously fight back in many forms, including the destruction/sabotage of key national infrastructure to make the government look bad”.

“However, nothing will make this government to slow down in its anti-corruption fight and no one who is corrupt will be spared,” he assured.

The minister appealed to Nigerians to join hands with the government to check the activities of unpatriotic elements, who have taken it upon themselves to work against the people’s interest.

Mohammed added: “When oil and gas facilities are vandalized, the impact is felt directly by Nigerians. When power infrastructure is sabotaged for whatever reasons, Nigerians bear the brunt. While those actions may be aimed at discrediting the government, those who pay the price are the vast majority of innocent, law-abiding and well-meaning Nigerians, not the vandals or the saboteurs.

“This is why Nigerians must not allow the few recreants behind these attacks to hold sway.”

He said the power situation is gradually improving as generation has now increased to around 4,000MW while the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, has assured that the prevailing fuel queues would gradually ease in the next few days.