On-andrew-yakubu-audacity-is-he-taking-nigerians-for-a-ride
September 7, 2020 | News
ON ANDREW YAKUBU’S AUDACITY – IS HE TAKING NIGERIANS FOR A RIDE?
It is quite disheartening and really annoying to behold some of the theatrical events often played out and dished to Nigerians to swallow daily, by those who were, and are supposed to act nobly while in their positions of public service. Some of the things that happen are often unheard in other climes, which makes one wonder when will all of this end. Those were my thoughts, when it was reported recently that the former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, who was reported to have hidden $9.8m (more than N3.5bn) and 74,000 Pounds (more than N30m), which was recovered in a bungalow belonging to him in Kaduna, had come out to tell Nigerians via the Federal High Court in Abuja, that a substantial part of the money found by the EFCC in 2017 was given to him as gift after leaving office.
Though, a Federal High Court, sitting in Kano, presided over by Justice Zainab Abubakar, had in 2017 ordered the forfeiture of the said sums recovered from Yakubu to the Federal Government, but one cannot help but wonder the audacity exhibited by the said former NNPC GMD, to have said what he said in Court. Could it be that Mr. Andrew Yakubu does not know exactly what to say to defend himself to justify how he got the said huge cash? Or that he takes Nigerians as morons and fools, who would be gullible enough to believe his cock and bull claim of $9.8 and 74,000-Pounds Sterling as cash gifts? Who were the people that gifted him with such huge cash? What sort of ‘favours’ did he do for them to warrant being given that kind of money in cash? Is an acceptance that he actually colluded with some persons to dupe the NNPC and misappropriate funds meant for the Federal Government’s oil corporation?
Mr. Yakubu was arraigned on March 16, 2017, on six counts but was ordered by the Court of Appeal to defend counts 3 and 4, which bordered on failure to make full disclosure of assets, receiving cash without going through a financial institution, and intent to avoid a lawful transaction in alleged violation of Section 1(1) of the Money Laundering Act, 2011 and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the Act. In his response to questions from his Counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), Mr. Yakubu confirmed that the money discovered in his property by the EFCC belonged to him. But that the money was not received in bulk, it was received in tranches of not more than $10,000 and not more than £5,000. And that the substantial part of the amount (98%), was given to him after he left office, and on the occasions of his birthday, thanksgiving service and other celebration he hosted after leaving office. He also said that the cash included gift he got from the marriages of his daughters.
While I do not dispute the fact that it is normal for people to be given cash gifts when hosting social events like he mentioned, but for such cash gifts to amounted to that huge sum in hard foreign currencies, it raises a whole lot questions as to its credibility and intentions behind such cash gifts. How often does Mr. Yakubu receive such cash gifts in tranches as he claims, to have amounted to that large amount? Is he the only person that had served as GMD of the NNPC? How come his predecessors were not given such cash gifts? What is so peculiar about his time in office in the NNPC to have warranted such cash gifts consistently? Truth is, in the country that we are, people don’t just give such huge cash gifts if you haven’t done them a huge favour. Or if they are not using such cash gifts as PR, to open doors of favour for themselves in the near future. In other words, nothing goes for nothing. There is always a cash somewhere!
Another important question that needs to be asked is, why did Mr. Andrew Yakubu keep such huge amount of foreign cash locked-up in house in Kaduna and not the Bank or in a safe deposit? Why was he hiding that sort of cash in his house until the anti-graft agency raided his house in 2017? His excuse that, he was keeping the money to think about a business venture he could embark on after his retirement, does not hold water, neither does it explain all the questions asked. Mind you, Mr. Yakubu was appointed in 2012, and was relieved of that appointment in 2014. So, were the cash gifts gathered within this period? Or did he start gathering the cash before then? Just between 2012 to 2017 when the cash was discovered, is about 5 years. How can one explain keeping foreign currencies he supposedly received as gifts for 5 years in his house in Kaduna?
Is Mr. Yakubu telling Nigerians that his salaries as NNPC Staff were paid with cash, and he kept them in house? Only a thief will keep that quantity of foreign money in his house. In the first instance, Mr. Yakubu did not have the intellect to be a Head of a Section in an International Oil Company (IOC). How they promoted his kind of person to be a Manager, and then promoted to the point of being the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC beats one’s imagination. A man who said he kept about N3.5billion in his private house, because they were gifts for supposed goodwill, clearly is not an intelligent man. Mr. Yakubu is not even qualified to be employed in any oil company. As far as I am concerned, he is moron, and he has displayed that under trial. Who are the lawyers even defending him? Are they not ashamed that their client admitted to keeping billions of cash as supposed gifts, at his house in Kaduna? Nigeria is indeed doomed, when we have these kinds of persons as Staff of the nation’s oil corporation – the NNPC. How was he able to pass the work interview and employed as NNPC Staff?
We can see that the more we look at this picture, the more everything about it does not make sense or add up. Mr. Yakubu also told the Court that for over 25 years, he had reason by virtue of his schedule, to travel to many parts of the world outside Nigeria and so, he was entitled to estacodes in the US Dollars, and that any saving (earning) he made during the trip, he had reason to save. But that still does not explain why the money was not kept in the Bank. It is evident that Mr. Yakubu is hiding something in his story.
I saw Mr. Yakubu twice in a Conference in Houston Texas, USA, some years ago while he was still in Office as GMD of the NNPC. And for the two times I saw him, he is with a large entourage of followers trooping after him as if he was an Emperor of an ancient empire. This was the same period Mrs. Deziane Alison-Madueke was the Minister for Petroleum Resources under former President Goodluck Jonathan, which was also the time when the NNPC and its subsidiaries were used as milk cows and channels for the pilfering of the nation’s huge revenues then as a result of the high price of oil at the global market.
The crux of the matter here is that, this Mr. Yakubu’s story should be turned in and out by the law Courts, and let this issue not be swept under the carpet. Nigeria’s justice system must be seen to do justice to this matter, to serve as deterrent to others who may think they can commit all kinds of corrupt atrocities while in public Office, and then come to Court when exposed, with the audacity to say rubbish for Nigerians to swallow.
Zik Gbemre.
July 13, 2020.
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
It is quite disheartening and really annoying to behold some of the theatrical events often played out and dished to Nigerians to swallow daily, by those who were, and are supposed to act nobly while in their positions of public service. Some of the things that happen are often unheard in other climes, which makes one wonder when will all of this end. Those were my thoughts, when it was reported recently that the former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, who was reported to have hidden $9.8m (more than N3.5bn) and 74,000 Pounds (more than N30m), which was recovered in a bungalow belonging to him in Kaduna, had come out to tell Nigerians via the Federal High Court in Abuja, that a substantial part of the money found by the EFCC in 2017 was given to him as gift after leaving office.
Though, a Federal High Court, sitting in Kano, presided over by Justice Zainab Abubakar, had in 2017 ordered the forfeiture of the said sums recovered from Yakubu to the Federal Government, but one cannot help but wonder the audacity exhibited by the said former NNPC GMD, to have said what he said in Court. Could it be that Mr. Andrew Yakubu does not know exactly what to say to defend himself to justify how he got the said huge cash? Or that he takes Nigerians as morons and fools, who would be gullible enough to believe his cock and bull claim of $9.8 and 74,000-Pounds Sterling as cash gifts? Who were the people that gifted him with such huge cash? What sort of ‘favours’ did he do for them to warrant being given that kind of money in cash? Is an acceptance that he actually colluded with some persons to dupe the NNPC and misappropriate funds meant for the Federal Government’s oil corporation?
Mr. Yakubu was arraigned on March 16, 2017, on six counts but was ordered by the Court of Appeal to defend counts 3 and 4, which bordered on failure to make full disclosure of assets, receiving cash without going through a financial institution, and intent to avoid a lawful transaction in alleged violation of Section 1(1) of the Money Laundering Act, 2011 and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the Act. In his response to questions from his Counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), Mr. Yakubu confirmed that the money discovered in his property by the EFCC belonged to him. But that the money was not received in bulk, it was received in tranches of not more than $10,000 and not more than £5,000. And that the substantial part of the amount (98%), was given to him after he left office, and on the occasions of his birthday, thanksgiving service and other celebration he hosted after leaving office. He also said that the cash included gift he got from the marriages of his daughters.
While I do not dispute the fact that it is normal for people to be given cash gifts when hosting social events like he mentioned, but for such cash gifts to amounted to that huge sum in hard foreign currencies, it raises a whole lot questions as to its credibility and intentions behind such cash gifts. How often does Mr. Yakubu receive such cash gifts in tranches as he claims, to have amounted to that large amount? Is he the only person that had served as GMD of the NNPC? How come his predecessors were not given such cash gifts? What is so peculiar about his time in office in the NNPC to have warranted such cash gifts consistently? Truth is, in the country that we are, people don’t just give such huge cash gifts if you haven’t done them a huge favour. Or if they are not using such cash gifts as PR, to open doors of favour for themselves in the near future. In other words, nothing goes for nothing. There is always a cash somewhere!
Another important question that needs to be asked is, why did Mr. Andrew Yakubu keep such huge amount of foreign cash locked-up in house in Kaduna and not the Bank or in a safe deposit? Why was he hiding that sort of cash in his house until the anti-graft agency raided his house in 2017? His excuse that, he was keeping the money to think about a business venture he could embark on after his retirement, does not hold water, neither does it explain all the questions asked. Mind you, Mr. Yakubu was appointed in 2012, and was relieved of that appointment in 2014. So, were the cash gifts gathered within this period? Or did he start gathering the cash before then? Just between 2012 to 2017 when the cash was discovered, is about 5 years. How can one explain keeping foreign currencies he supposedly received as gifts for 5 years in his house in Kaduna?
Is Mr. Yakubu telling Nigerians that his salaries as NNPC Staff were paid with cash, and he kept them in house? Only a thief will keep that quantity of foreign money in his house. In the first instance, Mr. Yakubu did not have the intellect to be a Head of a Section in an International Oil Company (IOC). How they promoted his kind of person to be a Manager, and then promoted to the point of being the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC beats one’s imagination. A man who said he kept about N3.5billion in his private house, because they were gifts for supposed goodwill, clearly is not an intelligent man. Mr. Yakubu is not even qualified to be employed in any oil company. As far as I am concerned, he is moron, and he has displayed that under trial. Who are the lawyers even defending him? Are they not ashamed that their client admitted to keeping billions of cash as supposed gifts, at his house in Kaduna? Nigeria is indeed doomed, when we have these kinds of persons as Staff of the nation’s oil corporation – the NNPC. How was he able to pass the work interview and employed as NNPC Staff?
We can see that the more we look at this picture, the more everything about it does not make sense or add up. Mr. Yakubu also told the Court that for over 25 years, he had reason by virtue of his schedule, to travel to many parts of the world outside Nigeria and so, he was entitled to estacodes in the US Dollars, and that any saving (earning) he made during the trip, he had reason to save. But that still does not explain why the money was not kept in the Bank. It is evident that Mr. Yakubu is hiding something in his story.
I saw Mr. Yakubu twice in a Conference in Houston Texas, USA, some years ago while he was still in Office as GMD of the NNPC. And for the two times I saw him, he is with a large entourage of followers trooping after him as if he was an Emperor of an ancient empire. This was the same period Mrs. Deziane Alison-Madueke was the Minister for Petroleum Resources under former President Goodluck Jonathan, which was also the time when the NNPC and its subsidiaries were used as milk cows and channels for the pilfering of the nation’s huge revenues then as a result of the high price of oil at the global market.
The crux of the matter here is that, this Mr. Yakubu’s story should be turned in and out by the law Courts, and let this issue not be swept under the carpet. Nigeria’s justice system must be seen to do justice to this matter, to serve as deterrent to others who may think they can commit all kinds of corrupt atrocities while in public Office, and then come to Court when exposed, with the audacity to say rubbish for Nigerians to swallow.
Zik Gbemre.
July 13, 2020.
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes