BBC

Friday, 2 September 2005, 23:04 GMT 00:04 UK

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has agreed to be investigated by the country's anti-corruption body after a governor accused him of taking bribes.

Mr Obasanjo denies the allegations from Orji Uzor Kalu - a member of his own governing party.

They include receiving commissions for oil contracts and holding illegal foreign bank accounts.

Nigeria is considered one of the most corrupt countries, but the president has vowed to fight the problem.

The accusations, described as "serious" by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), are also directed at senators and senior government officials.

"I authorise you to clinically look into these allegations and make your findings known, not only to me but to the nation," the president said in a note to the commission.

Critic

The EFCC was set up by President Obasanjo as part of his pledge to fight corruption after his election in 1999.

Mr Kalu, the governor of the south-eastern Abia state, is also under investigation by the same body.

He has been a vocal critic of Mr Obasanjo, and has announced his intention to run for president in 2007.

This is the second accusation against Mr Obasanjo since he stepped up his anti-graft campaign earlier this year.

Although a number of senior officials have been put under investigation for alleged corruption in recent months, there has not been any significant conviction during his six years in power.
 

Saturday Champion

September 03, 2005

MATTHEW OGWUCHE, Bureau Chief, (Abuja) and ADELANI ASHAMU

ECONOMIC and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced full investigation into alleged illegal foreign bank accounts being held by President Olusegun Obasanjo contained in a recent petition against him by Abia State governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.

Its chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu who disclosed this yesterday at a press conference in Abuja said the President is fully in support of the probe and ordered the EFCC to investigate the petition with dispatch.

Consequently, Ribadu challenged Gov. Kalu to come forward and substantiate his allegations against Obasanjo.

Gov. Kalu had in a letter dated August 22, 2005 titled "Working for posterity to judge us," accused the President of allegedly operating private foreign accounts including a platinum credit card, contrary to the anti-corruption posturing of his administration and the money laundering decree.

Ribadu said that the governor also accused the President of allegedly shielding many corrupt aides and some senators alleged to be his cronies accused of corrupt practices.

According to the EFCC boss, "he (Kalu) also alleged that some officials in the presidency as well as some senators collected commissions for the sale of Ajaokuta Steel Company and Delta Steel Mill, Aladja."

Kalu in the letter directly written to the President, according to Ribadu, also claimed that the President had allegedly abused his office by using public funds and pressuring Strabag Construction Company Ltd, a foreign firm operating in the country, to build for him a hostel and sports complex in Bells Secondary School, Otta, Ogun State and Bells University of Technology, Badagry, Lagos State and owned by the President.

Ribadu declared, "these are serious allegations and we appeal to Gov. Orji Kalu to help us do a clinical investigation. The issues cannot just be dismissed, the time has come whereby everybody should come clean."

He pleaded with Kalu to come forward with more information.

He further claimed that he has been instructed by the President to investigate these claims and make "his findings public" insisting that these claims must be substantiated.

Recently, the National Universities Commission (NUC) awarded one of seven new licences to operate a university to Bells University of Technology, Badagry, the trade name of the president’s educational institutions.

Among newly licensed private universities that have commenced business, is the ABTI/American University of Nigeria (AAUN), licensed to Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, and Crescent University, Abeokuta, said to belong to one of the president’s close associates and chairman of the Nigeria/Cameroun Mixed Commission, Prince Bola Ajibola.

THIS DAY

EFCC Probes Obasanjo, Senators

From George Oji in Abuja, 09.03.2005

The Economic and Financial Crimes Co-mmission (EFCC) said it has begun the investigation of President Olu-segun Obasanjo, some of his aides and some members of the Senate to ascertain their level of involvement in the allegation of corruption levelled aga-inst them by Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State.
 

The investigations according to Executive Chairman of the Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was personally authorised to undertake the investigation by the President.
Kalu had in a letter dated August 22, 2005 to the president titled, ‘Working For Posterity to Judge Us,’ raised issues of corruption against the President and some Senators. Specifically, the governor accused the President of maintaining and operating foreign bank accounts and using public money to fund the Bell Secondary School and Bell University in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
 

Kalu also accused some of the presidential aides and senators of collecting large sums of money on several oil and defence contracts including collecting commission for the sale of Ajaokuta Steel and Delta Steel Rolling Mill, Aladja.
 

The same letter to Ribadu was also despatched to Justice Mustapha Akanbi, Chairman of the Indepen-dent Corrupt and other Practices Commission
(ICPC) with an accompanying note written personally by Obasanjo and dated August 2, 2005.
 

In it Obasnjo wrote, "There are wide and wild allegations, which I authorise you to clinically investigate and make your findings public if you so choose."
Nuhu in a press statement read to newsmen yesterday at the Commission's Abuja head office said, "consequent upon a letter written to the President by the Executive Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu making serious allegations of corruption against the person of the President, the President has authorised the EFCC to conduct, 'a clinical investigation' in all the issues raised in the letter.
 

"In summary, the Governor has made the following allegations:
 

•That some Senators and Presidential aides had collected large sums of money on several oil and defence contracts.
•That President Obasanjo maintains and operates foreign bank accounts including 'a platinum credit card' recently obtained.
•That public fund was used to construct hostel and sports complex by STRABAG Construction Company at the two institutions five years ago.
•That some government officials have collected commissions for the sale of Ajaokuta Steel and Delta Steel Rolling Mill, Aladja.
 

"In view of the President's submission of himself to investigation, we wish to appeal to Governor Kalu to assist us in this assignment. We have already written to the Governor to avail us of all the evidences at his disposal in our assigned task of sanitising the country."
 

Fielding questions from newsmen, Ribadu said his commission intends to take the allegation very serious since this is the first time such a very serious allegation is made against the president by a very high political office holder as a governor and the president is submitting himself for investigation.
 

"This is a very serious issue and a milestone in the history of this country. If the president says go ahead and investigate me and make it public to the whole world, it will open the gate for us to go everywhere and investigate what is going on.
 

"We take this very serious and intend to do a very serious investigation. This is a very important development for us all. We have reached a stage in the fight against corruption where there is no hiding place for anybody no matter how highly placed," Ribadu said.

SATURDAY PUNCH, September 03, 2005

Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja

Abia State Governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, has written a letter to President Olusegun Obasanjo accusing him and some of his aides of massive corruption.

In the letter, which was personally signed by the governor, President Obasanjo was accused of operating foreign bank accounts including ‘a platinum credit card’, which he was said to have recently obtained.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, Chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, said the president had instructed the commission to look into details of the allegations.

Governor Kalu, in his letter to the president dated August 22, 2005, said he had “overwhelming evidence” to the effect that public fund was used to construct hostels and sports complex by Strabag Construction Company at Bells Secondary School and Bells University five years ago.

The governor, who was also under investigations by EFCC on how he disbursed money meant for local governments in his state before he went to court to secure an injunction restraining the commission from proceeding with the investigation, also alleged that some government officials collected commissions for the sale of Ajaokuta Steel Company and Delta Steel Rolling Mill, Aladja in Delta State.

In the voluminous letter, which was shown to newsmen during the briefing, Kalu alleged that some senators and presidential aides had collected large sums of money on several oil and defence contracts.

Although the letter also leveled some allegations against the leadership of the Senate, those allegations were not mentioned and it was not clear whether the allegations were against the current leadership or its predecessors.

Ribadu said the president, in his covering note to the commission on Friday, mandated EFCC to look into the allegations “and conduct clinical investigations into all the issues raised in the letter.”

While appealing to the governor to make his evidence available “since he said he has overwhelming evidence to support all the allegations,” Ribadu said the commission was determined to get to the root of these allegations.
 

Guardian

September 03, 2005

EFCC To Probe Obasanjo, Others, Says Ribadu
FROM LEMMY UGHEGBE (ABUJA)