The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under the first tenure of ex-president Muhammadu Buhari, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has denied receiving a bribe from Diezani Alison-Madueke or any of her allies as alleged by prosecutors in a UK court.
Kachikwu was mentioned in the criminal charges against Alison-Madueke who is a former minister of petroleum resources.
Kachikwu was accused of receiving bribes in the form of cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets, and the use of high-end properties in the UK in return for awarding oil contracts.
According to the court process, Olatimbo Bukola Ayinde, one of the defendants and Alison-Madueke’s associate, reportedly bribed Kachikwu “in August 2015 with the intention of influencing his capacity as a foreign public official” when he was group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Kachikwu, however, in a statement released on Thursday said, “I refer to the publication carried by some online media channels indicating that I was mentioned in the charges brought against Diezani Alison-Madueke and others in a London magistrate court.
“According to the publications, the said charge alleged that I was bribed to induce me to possibly confer some potential business advantage on one of the accused. I wish to state that I never met any of the accused before, all through and after my public service period and was not offered nor received any bribe nor did any of the accused persons receive any business favours while I served.
“If there was any attempt to bribe me through anyone, I was not part of that and received no offers or favours therefrom.”
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