Patience Jonathan received N700, 000 monthly salary for months after retirement – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ON Monday
alleged that Dame Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan, continued receiving her N700, 000 monthly salary
seven months after she retired as a civil servant.

It said the former First Lady, who effectively retired from the
Bayelsa State Civil Service as a Permanent Secretary on October 14,
2014, was paid her salary up till May 2015, when her husband left
office.

The Commission stated this at the Federal High Court in Lagos
during hearing of a forfeiture case it brought against Mrs.
Jonathan.

The agency is praying the court to order the final forfeiture of
$8.4 million and N7.4 billion allegedly belonging to her.

Justice Mojisola Olatoregun declined to grant EFCC’s application
for final forfeiture but directed parties to give oral evidence to
justify ownership.

She said there were conflicting depositions in the affidavits
before her, adding that oral evidence was needed to clear them
up.

The judge had last April 20 ordered the funds’ temporary
forfeiture to the Federal Government.

Mrs. Jonathan, Globus Integrated Services Ltd, Finchley Top
Homes Ltd., Am-Pm Global Network Ltd, Pagmat Oil and Gas Ltd, Magel
Resort Ltd and Esther Oba are the respondents.

Among the temporarily forfeited sums are N1.085billion and
N226.3million found in Finchley’s Ecobank account and N39.4million
found in its Diamond Bank account, as well as N55.9million found in
Pagmat Oil and Gas’ Diamond Bank account, among others.

Mrs. Jonathan’s lawyers, including Chief Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN)
and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), had argued that the funds included
donations and legitimate earnings by the companies linked to
her.

But, EFCC said the money was “reasonably suspected to be
proceeds of unlawful activity”.

At the commencement of proceedings yesterday, Mrs Jonathan’s
lawyers called a former Head of Service of Bayelsa State, Mr.
Fraser Ogboru, as its first witness.

In his testimony, Ogboru, who said he retired from Bayelsa State
Civil Service on December 31, 2014, told the court that he had knew
Mrs. Jonathan when her husband was a Deputy Governor.

He claimed he was still in service when Mrs. Jonathan was
appointed a permanent secretary.

During cross-examination by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, the
witness said he had no knowledge of when Patience Jonathan’s salary
was stopped as he had already left service by then.

Oyedepo: “The first respondent’s (Mrs Jonathan) effective date
of retirement is 16th October, 2014. Would you be surprised to hear
that the first respondent was still earning salaries till May
2015?”

Ogboru: “I would be surprised.”

Ogboru said a Permanent Secretary’s monthly salary was about
N700,000 while the gratuity upon retirement was just over
N20million.

Other witnesses including a former Senior Special Assistant to
ex-President Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Dr. Waripamo-Owei
Dudafa, and the South West Zonal Coordinator of an NGO, Women for
Change Initiative, Chief Mrs. Kate Onyechere, also testified.

In his testimony, Dudafa denied being used by the former First
Lady to launder money.

He told Justice Olatoregun that all the funds in an account
linked to a firm, Globus Integrated Services Ltd, were cash gifts
given to the former First Lady during her husband’s tenure as
President.

“I was not procured by the family of Dame Patience Jonathan to
conceal proceeds of unlawful activities and by virtue of being the
former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to the erstwhile
president and the 1st respondent (Mrs. Jonathan), I was informed by
the 1st respondent that the funds in the firm’s account are cash
gifts that were given to her while she was the first lady”, Dudafa
said.

The witness also denied that he was aware that a bag he received
on behalf of Dr. Jonathan from one, Col. Adegbe, in the course of
his duties contained $47 million which was allegedly removed from
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the instruction of a former
National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki.

On her part, Chief Mrs. Kate Onyechere explained the rationale
behind the founding of the Women for Change Initiative by Mrs.
Jonathan.

She also revealed the various sources through which the
Initiative get fund to carry out its activities.

“The Initiative was formed by Mrs. Jonathan as a normal
non-governmental organization. The main thing is empowerment. We
empower Nigerian women across 36 states. We have zonal, states and
local government coordinators.

“We organised luncheon and receive donations across states to
get funds. We also write private individuals to donate. Even, the
coordinators also make donations”, she said.

The witness further revealed that Mrs. Jonathan was unanimously
adopted by the trustees and coordinators of the Initiative as the
sole signatory to its accounts.

Under cross-examination by Oyedepo, the witness named four
individuals as Trustees of Women for Change Initiative.

They are: Dr. Chidinma, Mrs. Josephine, Mrs. Jonathan and Mrs.
Yemisi Oyewole.

Further hearing in the matter has been adjourned to May 24, 2019
at 11am.

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Dangote refinery awards $368m worth of contracts to
local contractors

Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical has so far awarded $368
million to 120 local contractors at the site as part of its
contribution to Nigeria content development initiative.

The Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development
and Capital Projects, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar
Edwin, who made this disclosure during the tour of the Dangote
Refinery by members of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and
Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), yesterday in Lagos,
said there are several Nigerian content opportunities in the
company’s refinery and petrochemical project.

He noted that the Refinery would lead to significant skills
transfer and technology acquisition opportunities in the
country.

He said the Group has embarked on a landmark integrated Refinery
and Petrochemical project, regarded as the largest industrial
complex in the history of Africa, which is expected to take Nigeria
to new heights through the transformation of the economy.

According to him, the company is already partnering with the
Lagos State government and Siemens in the skills development of the
local community for employment at the construction site. “We have
already trained and employed 250 artisans,” he added.

He disclosed the company’s intention to train 900 Nigerian
engineers in India. “The company has completed the overseas
training of first and Second batches of Nigerian engineers and are
being acclimatized at site. The third batch left for India

classroom training for one month, on the job training for one
year and working in real time with experts in the industry every
day”, he added.

He said that company has so far employed 3580 Nigerian personnel
on site. “This excludes employment by the various contractors and
subcontractors at the site”, he said.

Edwin disclosed that the company, in partnership with the
Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the
National Directorate of Employment (NDE), kicked-off of training
for 200 youths in its host communities, as part of its corporate
social responsibility initiatives.

He disclosed that the programme is meant to prepare the selected
youth with vocational skills that will make them employable or
self-employed.

According to the company, the youth are currently be trained in
areas of plumbing, masonry, welding, iron bending, auto mechanics
and electrical works because of the instant value addition to their
lives and communities.

Speaking on the progress made so far on the refinery project,
Edwin disclosed that the company has imported world’s largest
Reactor Regenerator and well as a Crude Column, which is equivalent
to 30-storied building weighing about 100 fully loaded trucks.

He said that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100 per
cent of the Nigerian requirement of all liquid products, such as
Gasoline, Diesel, Kerosene & Aviation Jet and also would have
surplus of each of these products for export.

According to him, the Refinery will ensure that the security of
local supply of petroleum products is guaranteed as well as the
availability of petrochemical feedstock (Poly-propylene &
Polyethylene), which will be enough for the Nigerian market as well
as the neighboring countries.

With a fast-growing population and poor infrastructure, he said
the refinery would also reposition Nigeria as an attractive
investment destination and a major industrial hub in Africa.

Edwin added that the company also possess strategically located
marine infrastructure for crude receipts and product trade when the
refinery is fully completed.

He noted that the 650,000 barrels per day refinery has been
designed to process a variety of light and medium grades of crude
and produce extremely clean fuels that meet Euro V
specification.

He said that company has invested in most advanced units to
produce Euro V fuel due to help Nigeria meet the European Standard
of gasoline.

Edwin said in addition to the refinery plant, the company is
constructing the largest fertilizer Plant in West Africa. “Current
consumption of Urea in Nigeria is 700,000 tonnes. There is very
poor per hectare usage of fertilizer leading to very poor crop
yield. By 2020, Nigerian population, which is around 207 million,
would lead to increased food consumption.

“Estimates point out that around five million tonnes of
fertilizers are required per year in Nigeria in next five to seven
years bifurcated into 3.5 Million tonnes of Urea.

“Dangote Fertilizer Project is the largest Granulated Urea
Fertilizer complex coming up in the entire fertilizer industry
history in the World, with an investment of $2.0 Billion capacity
of 3 Million tonnes per annum. The Dangote Fertilizer complex
consists of Ammonia and Urea plants with associated facilities and
infrastructure, to produce 3 MMTPA Urea,” he stated.

President/Chairman of council Nigerian Institute of Public
Relations, (NIPR) Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo, commended the President
of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote for his investment in the Nigeria’s
petroleum sector.

Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists, (NUJ) Lagos State
Council, Dr. Qasim Akinreti, thanked the company for giving the
union opportunity to embark on the tour of the refinery
project.