The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said yesterday that it has commenced investigations into the alleged involvement of some Nigerians in the $20 million bribery scandal for which a Swiss company and its officials have been convicted in Geneva; Switzerland.
A top official of the EFCC confirmed that the Acting Chairman of the anti-graft agency; Ibrahim Magu, had instructed some of his staff to pore through the agency’s records and dig out relevant files on the matter.
Fingered in the high profile bribe scandal are: former managing director of the NPA; Chief Adebayo Sarumi, a former managing director of NPA’s Eastern Ports; Mr. Felix Ovbude and a former Executive Director, Finance at the NPA, Abba Murtala Mohammed. Others are: Daniel Afam-Obi, a former executive assistant to Sullivan Akachukwu Nwankpo who was ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s special adviser on technical matters.
At the centre of the bribery scandal is the Swizz Company; Dredging International Services (Cyprus) Ltd that was sentenced to a fine of one million Swiss Francs and asked to refund 36 million Swiss Francs that were illegal profit after it was indicted for allegedly making illicit payments to the Nigerians.
The EFCC official disclosed yesterday that, “if those who gave the bribe have been convicted, we will have to do something to bring those who allegedly received the bribe to book”. “We will see what we already have and what more work needs to be done.
“We will also see what help we can get from Swiss authorities on this matter. But I can tell you that we are re-launching our investigation.”
The spokesperson for the EFCC; Wilson Uwujaren confirmed his agency was on the case.
“Yes, we are reviewing the matter, we are on it,” Mr. Uwujaren said.
Dredging International Services (Cyprus) Ltd is part of a consortium which formed The Bonny Channel Management Limited that in turn entered into a joint venture arrangement with the NPA to form The Bonny Channel Company in 2005. The joint venture company was saddled with “creating and maintaining a safe navigational passage for all marine users to and in the Eastern Ports of Bonny Island, Onne, Okrika and Port-Harcourt”.
The NPA holds 60 per cent equity in the JVC while the Bonny Channel Management Limited consortium (comprising Dredging International, Vinci, IPEM and Dapesa Limited) has the remaining 40 per cent.
Meanwhile, Vice President of the Senior Staff Association of Communication Transportation and Corporation (SSACTAC); Comrade Omeiza Umar Jimoh has challenged former top shots of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) whose names have been mentioned to come out clean.
Reacting to the allegations in a chat with journalists in Lagos, Comrade Omeiza who is also a former President of NPA branch of SSACTAC yesterday charged the federal government to investigate the allegations and ensure monies that were allegedly fraudulently collected were refunded. He stressed that making the alleged bribe-takes to refund the monies will justify that truly money was collected as bribe.
"I read something in the news about bribery scandal over the farming out of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) that NPA did on Bonny Channel Management and how the Swizz government was able to prosecute their citizens involved and how Nigeria under last regime says that nobody has any case to answer and money was meant to be refunded"
"I want the government to take that refund which will justify some evidence that truly money was taken"
"Secondly, I want the big names involved in the scandal, these are my ogas (bosses) and I must respect them, they are experts in the maritime sector, they should come and defend their names, we cannot hold brief for them, thank God they are still living and they are still experts in the system, they should come and defend their names", Omeiza said.
Omeiza however noted that the story might not be 100 per cent correct, but that there would still be an iota of truth.
Discussion about this post