Kehinde Fajobi
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has denied any connection to the $52.8 million recently repatriated to Nigeria from the United States, insisting that the funds belong to Nigerian oil magnate Kola Aluko.
In a statement titled There is No Such Thing as Diezani Loot, released through her counsel, Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Alison-Madueke refuted claims that the money is part of her alleged loot, describing the reports as deliberate misinformation aimed at tarnishing her reputation.
“We note with concern the recent deliberate attempt to link her with what has been described as a civil forfeiture of a yacht Galactica, the sale of which was said to have yielded $52.8m to the US government; which sum has since been repatriated to Nigeria,” the statement read.
According to Alison-Madueke, the $52.8 million was proceeds from the sale of the yacht Galactica, seized by US authorities from Aluko. She maintained that she was not involved in the purchase, use, or sale of the vessel.
“The purveyors of this line of misinformation term it ‘name-and-shame.’ To sell the storyline, the architects ensured they attached Diezani’s name to a recovered yacht which is not in any way linked to her. They now falsely termed it ‘Diezani loot.’ Nothing of the sort ever happened,” she stated.
The former minister reiterated that the yacht was owned by Aluko, who forfeited it to the US government before the proceeds were returned to Nigeria.
She called on those spreading defamatory and baseless narratives about her to desist, urging them to redirect their energy towards more productive endeavours.