Kachikwu: I Never Took Bribe from Diezani or Her Ally

A former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday, dismissed report that she was bribed by one of his predecessors, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is currently being tried in a British court for alleged bribery.

Kachikwu had frowned on some recent reports, first by an online newspaper, The Cable, which claimed he was named in the ongoing bribery case against Alison-Madueke, in London, saying the slanting of the report was an unkind cut.

Cable had exclusively reported that Kachikwu, alongside a few others, was mentioned in the criminal charges against Alison-Madueke, who was accused of receiving bribes in the form of cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets, and the use of high-end properties in Britain in return for awarding oil contracts.

According to the Cable report, which claimed to have sighted the court processes, “Kachikwu was bribed in August 2015 with the intention of influencing his capacity as a foreign public official.”

However, in his reaction, Kachikwu, stated that, “I refer to the publication carried by some online media channels indicating that I was mentioned in the charges brought against Deziani 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.”