The All Progressives Congress, APC, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently address the issues surrounding the monumental Malabu oil scandal that has put the nation on global searchlight.
APC in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said President Jonathan should break silence on the matter since half of the 1.1 billion US dollars paid to Malabu Oil and gas for oil field OPL 245 by two oil majors was allegedly used to bribe Nigerian officials, who in turn used the proceeds to buy private jets and armoured limousines.
According to the party, “This is where President Jonathan comes in: He must allow an unfettered probe of this scandal that has again put Nigeria in bad light. Whatever happens, however, the names of those who received the bribes will soon be known, thanks to the determination of the UK and Italy to show that no one who violates their laws will go scot-free.
“Just like the Halliburton and Siemens bribery scandals that were also exposed from abroad, this Malabu scandal has again damaged Nigeria’s standing in the comity of nations. While US, France, Italy and Germany have jailed officials and imposed fines on the foreign firms that gave bribes to Nigerian officials in the Halliburton and Siemens scandals, none of those who received the bribes here in Nigeria has been touched. The Malabu scandal must not go the same way”.
APC noted that Jonathan’s government remained the most corrupt in the history of the nation as it had cost the nation billions of dollars in money that would have gone into national development.
It said, “There is no better way to say this. The Jonathan Administration is swimming in corruption and the President has contumaciously allowed it to fester because his government is feeding fat on the proceeds of graft. He has even tried to use semantics to cover up the extent of sleaze, saying stealing is not corruption”.
APC said apart from the Malabu, Halliburton and Siemens scandals, the Jonathan Administration was yet to clear air on what happened to the 20 billion dollars in diverted oil money; the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy fraud for which no single persons has been brought to justice and several other unaccountable funds.
“Under your watch, Mr. President, there is massive looting of the commonwealth by the same people being paid by taxpayers to ensure a judicious utilization of the scarce national resources.
“There is a growing culture of impunity because no one is punished for the looting. Now, you have another chance to turn things around for the better.
“The Malabu scandal provides such a chance. All those who collected millions of dollars in bribes in the illegal transaction must be identified and brought to justice immediately. We must not always allow foreign countries to be the ones exposing corrupt Nigerian officials.
“Our government must act like a responsible government by demonstrating it will not allow violation of its laws or encourage corruption”, the party said.
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