By Dele Sobowale
“Fresh evidence shows that Nigeria’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) used Halliburton bribe money for the 2003 campaign that gave former President Olusegun Obasanjo a second term in office. Our investigations show that a significant portion of the $180 million bribe was given to the party through the presidency [emphasis mine], which doled out the money using cheques”. NEXT ON SUNDAY, July 5, 2009.

Last week, the first part of this series ended with the declaration that NO GOVERNOR CAN ALONE STEAL ONE KOBO FROM HIS STATE. Let me add now that NO PRESIDENT CAN STEAL A NAIRA ALONE FROM NIGERIA. A syndicate is always involved; each taking his share and sworn to silence over the conspiracy.

Today, we start with Presidential larceny. In the first volume of my book, now in circulation, PDP: CORRUPTION INCORPORATED, read about how about N1 trillion vanished under Obasanjo in eight years.

Volume two, in progress will reveal how another N5-6 trillion went into shady pockets during the same period. All immunities enjoyed by the President and Vice President end when they leave office and there is no statute of limitation on prosecution. EFCC has an urgent task on its hands. Ibori stole petty cash!! Quote me.

You don’t have to have travelLed or lived in Europe or America or any country, other than a banana republic, to know that, nowhere else in the world could that revelation have been made about a former President and his political party without dire consequences to the individuals involved.

Former French President Chirac, was recently convicted for a crime he committed when he served as Mayor, before becoming president, over thirty years ago and more than fifteen years after he ceased to be French President.

President Nixon, serving his second term in office, was forced to resign on account of a minor misdemeanor committed by his staff during the campaigns leading to his re-election by a landslide. That is democracy as practiced by nations governed by the rule of law.

But, our own “dear” Baba Iyabo saunters around the world, a free man, confident that he had got away with political murder – or has he not?. Whereas, the Democratic or the Republican party and its leaders would have been compelled to face investigations if a newspaper had published this sort of story about them, neither Obasanjo, nor the PDP even bothered to refute the story by NEXT.

Well, silence means consent and we can take it as proved beyond reasonable doubt that President Obasanjo and the PDP, which he led in 2003, were receivers of bribe money. And since the $180 million or N25 billion came from abroad, and was not properly declared to the monetary authorities, they were also guilty of money laundering.

Did any of the recipients of the loot pay taxes on them? Perish the thought; we are dealing with hardened criminals. Ibori is an amateur. Quote me.

Obasanjo, as everybody would recollect, did not stand for election alone. He had a Vice-President. Furthermore, the PDP had an office and officers responsible for various functions; the party (or syndicate) also had a Board of Trustees.

In addition, an Obasanjo/Atiku campaign office was opened through which a substantial percentage of the campaign funds were distributed. In addition, states campaign offices were opened nationwide; which were also well-funded from the same illegal source.

There is no need to list, seriatim, all the organizations and individuals tainted with the bribe money which Halliburton graciously provided. Incidentally, the American citizens who handled the bribe money have been jailed; the Nigerian recipients are still being addressed as Your Excellency.

This serves only to draw attention to the question asked above, namely, with Ibori down, what about the rest? What about PDP?  Just in case you think shady deals ended with Obasanjo, then read the following revelation, by no other person than Obasanjo himself. It takes one to know one, you’ll say.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo lamented at the week-end how his successors “recklessly” squandered $103 billion his government had left behind in government coffers…He regretted that the money was frittered away in the last three years without anything to show for it”. That was the report in Ibori’s paper, the DAILY INDEPENDENT of November 21, 2011.

To begin with Obasanjo is still the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, not Bola Tinubu or General Buhari – the opposition leaders. So, this testimony must be accepted as gospel truth. Furthermore, counting back three years from November 2011 takes us to November 2008.

President Jonathan became acting President in April 2010 and substantive President from May 2010. So he accounts for at least half of the period as President and the other half as Vice-President when N15 trillion disappeared “without anything to show for it”. Where was the National Assembly dominated by the PDP?

Again, in no respect able nation in the world would a former President and leader of his own party make that allegation without dire consequences to the incumbent President. But, for a country and a ruling party inured in the cesspool of corruption, it was just business as usual. Ibori convicted; where are the rest? Where is PDP?..

TWO IN OF A KIND

“Portharcourt refinery neglected for 12 years — MD” That was the story on March 1, 2012 in the PUNCH. Mr Antony Ogbuigwe, the MD, must step up to receive either one of two awards – either for courage bordering on suicide wish or for monumental stupidity.

The said MD was making this complaint to Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Minister of Petroleum, whose duty it is to keep the refineries functioning but who had failed miserably in her primary assignment after two years in office.

She doesn’t even know how much fuel we consume per day – almost two years after. She worked for Shell.

“Independent Power Producers Up in Arms”. That was THISDAY of May 16, 2008. At the time, Professor Bart Nnaji, was the CEO of Geometric Power Limited, and leader of private power producers. According to the report, “The key contentious issue is that the off-take price of N2.80 per kilowatt hour would be unprofitable for most of them”.

So, we have as Minister for Power someone who stands to benefit from higher tariffs which will increase hardship on Nigerians ably supported by his “brother” Dr Amadi of NERC, under whom tariff had gone up twice despite atrocious service delivery. Syndicate?

Now, we have a former top executive of an International Oil Company, who often don’t wish us well, in charge of Petroleum, and; for Power, a major stakeholder in independent power supply, who will be happy if PHCN fails so they can benefit (like GSM networks and NITEL).

The Professor is so comical, he does not even know that as far back as April 2009, Jonathan, then Vice-President, and Chairman of the National Integrated Power Project Steering Committee, was already promising Nigerians 6,000MW of electricity by December 2009.

He goes about beating his chest about 4,000 MW which is not even stable. Neither the Petroleum nor the Power Ministry, the two most vital Ministries, is working. Is it incompetence or sabotage? Judge for yourself.