Diezani Alison Madueke

Jamiu Yisa

Member representing Epe Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Segun Olulade, has said that the immediate past President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan must be called to explain how a Minister under his watch was able to siphon a sum of $153.3 million from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Olulade in a statement on Tuesday, while wondering how ex-Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, was able to siphon such a huge amount from the NNPC, stated that “Nigerians were right to have voted Jonathan out in 2015 because only God knows where we would be now if he had returned as the President.”

The lawmaker, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Health Services, maintained that the recent revelation as to how Diezani stashed the alleged stolen funds in three banks in the country shows that Jonathan was not in control of his administration as President.

“If as a President, such amount of money was stolen from an agency of government, NNPC for that matter and the President either pretended not to have knowledge of it or chose not to do anything, then he has a very big question to answer.”

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, had last week, ordered the temporary forfeiture of the sum of $153,310,000, which Diezani allegedly siphoned from the NNPC and stashed in three banks namely Sterling Bank Plc, First Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc.

The trial judge in the matter is Justice Muslim Hassan, after ordering the temporary forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government, also gave Sterling Bank and any other interested party 14 days to appear before him to prove the legitimacy of the money, failing which the funds would be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

Speaking further, Olulade insisted that “it is not enough to forfeit the money to the Federal Government; both Diezani and former President Jonathan should be made to answer questions as to how such amount could be moved away from NNPC. If they are both found wanting, then they should be made to face the wrath of the law,” the statement read.Die