‘I’ve not committed any crime,’ Petroleum Minister says

monjola sotubo

April 23, 2015 8:25 AM

Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke also denied reports that she is seeking asylum in some countries.

Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke has said that she has not committed any crime.

Ms Alison-Madueke also denied reports that she is seeking asylum in some countries.

The minister made the statements while addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, April 22, 2015.

“I have not sought such assistance because I am not aware that I have been indicted of any crime that I will need a soft landing,” the minister said in response to allegations that she visited former Head of State, Abdulsalam Abubakar in order to plead for mercy from the incoming government of President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

“Over the last four years, I have been severally and unfortunately accused and labelled in so many malicious and vindictive ways. I have explained these things and pushed back robustly on these accusations and I have even gone to court on many of them. Yet they keep being regurgitated,” she added.

“I think it is unfortunate, particularly when we are moving into a transition period and looking forward to an incoming government which is coming to take over where we have ended. For everything that has a beginning there is an end and that is not a surprise. What is the surprise is the sort of malevolence bothering on personal malicious libel to my person during this period of time,” Ms Alison-Madueke said.

The minister also spoke on the achievements she had made during her tenure

“I do believe that I have done the best for Nigeria in this job and I have attained many firsts in the history of oil and gas especially in the reforms that we have done. In this period of time, I have stepped on many big toes, particularly the toes of the cabals that were in the industry when we came in,” she said

“Quite frankly, I think as unprecedented as it is, it does not please everybody and that cannot be helped but let us remember the unprecedented reforms that have happened in the oil industry during our time, such as major gas reforms, the Petroleum Industry Bill, which has been completely revised, reformed and put into the hands of members of the National Assembly where it has languished for two years,” she added.

“We did all these and we put them in place to reduce corruption, so for me to be tagged with various tags of corruption, $10 million jet purchases, who buys jet for $10 million dollars for goodness sake?” Ms Alison-Madueke said.

She also spoke on the alleged missing oil funds from the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) saying that they were connected to the reforms contained in the PIB.

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