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I
rejected Adenuga’s bribe – El-Rufai
Newsdiaryonline Mon Aug 15,2011
Our country has
come to a sorry pass, where shame and contrition have
disappeared. In what other clime can a man under oath before a
Senate Committee, admit receiving a bribe, yet expect no
immediate retribution? This sums up Mallam Nasir El Rufai’s
response to the testimony of Charles Osuji, a former staff of
the BPE, at the Senate hearings on privatisation. As Osuji
testified, he collected a bribe from Mike Adenuga, and El-Rufai
never sought or collected bribe from anyone either in his twenty
years of professional practice or in a decade of public service.
Osuji went on a frolic of his own, and collected the money, and
then told El-Rufai about it. He rejected the bribe and ensured
Osuji was punished for collecting it. That was the proper thing
to do, and it was done.
Mike Adenuga
offered the highest price for the National Oil and Chemical
Company (NOLCHEM) when it was being privatised, and the BPE
under El-Rufai’s leadership recommended his as the winning bid.
El-Rufai’s BPE maintained the integrity of the bid process
despite intense pressures from the political leadership of
Nigeria and at least one foreign government.
The bidders for
NOLCHEM were: Engen of South Africa, which was the former Exxon
South Africa, Mike Adenuga of Consolidated Oil, Chief Igweh, the
owner of Bolingo Hotels, Shell BV and a consortium led by Mr.
Kola Abiola. As the bids were being evaluated, President
Obasanjo informed El-Rufai that Shell’s management had come to
him complaining that BPE had frustrated their bid for NOLCHEM.
Thabo Mbeki, then South African President, had also called
Obasanjo to press Engen’s case.
As the bid
process unfolded, Vice-President Abubakar Atiku also told El
Rufai that a former president and a notable traditional ruler
had asked him to intervene for Mike Adenuga’s Consolidated Oil.
The firm response from the BPE was that only the highest price
can win. At the end, Adenuga submitted the highest bid of
something like N36 per share, and he won. Engen offered N28,
while Bolingo’s bid was for N34.
Shortly after
Adenuga’s winning bid was announced, Osuji came to inform El
Rufai that he had been asked by Adenuga to give him N25 million
and US $100,000 as ‘a gift’ in gratitude for selling NOLCHEM to
him. El Rufai asked Osuji to return the money, and the latter
insinuated that Adenuga had consulted the VP about the bribe. El
Rufai brought this to the attention of the VP who not only
denied any involvement but agreed that Osuji’s was a sacking
offence. Osuji was then queried and he failed to respond to the
query in time. As a deputy-director, the approval of the
National Council for Privatisation (NCP) was required to
terminate Osuji’s appointment, and it was granted by the VP. At
the next meeting of the NCP, members of Council, particularly
the late Chief Bola Ige, then Attorney-General, and Joseph
Sanusi, then Governor of the Central Bank, made the case for the
conversion of Osuji’s termination to outright dismissal, and
prosecution under the ICPC Act. The file must still be in the
Federal Ministry of Justice. And there is no better time to
complete this
The idea that
things cannot be done according to due process and in a fair
manner is unfortunate, but it lingers because even people who
win a fair process were always prepared to subvert and rig it.
Osuji is a liar and perjurer. It is time the law takes it own
course, this once.
Mallam El Rufai
is as always proud that he kept his integrity and resisted
pressure to bend the rules for anyone while in public service.
He challenges anyone with any evidence otherwise .
Muyiwa
Adekeye, Media Adviser to El-rufai
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