An American newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, had made a mind-bogging revelation that the Nigerian government was paying huge amount of money to the former Niger Delta warlords for their efforts in making sure that the oil pipelines are not vandalised.
According to the newspaper, Mr Asari Dokubo, is collecting the sum of $9 million to maintain his estimated 4,000 soldiers, while Ateke Toms and General Ebakabowei Boyloaf Victor Ben collect $3.5 million apiece. General Government Tompolo Ekpumopolo, who is the most priced, receives the sum of $22.5 million.
The payment, said the Wall Street Journal, are made on yearly basis.
The newspaper claimed that it got its figures from some senior officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which, the newspaper said, makes the payment directly to the warlords.
Speaking, the National Coordinator of the organisation, Comrade Abdullahi Ladan, yesterday, in Abuja, said that it was worrisome that the federal government would use money belonging to the pensioners to fund pipeline protection when thousands of pensioners were yet to receive their pensions.
Ladan said that the government cannot deny the fact that the money recovered by the defunct PRTT cannot be accounted for “while those responsible for the recovery of the money were ignominiously dismissed from service.”
According to him: “There are incontrovertible facts to show that it was part of the Pensions Reform Task Team recovered N282 billion that was used to award contract to Niger Delta militant, Tompolo.
“If it is not the money, the federal government should prove where it got the money to award the contract since there was no allocation for it in the budget.
“It is also sad that Maina and co, who fought hard to expose the rot in the Head of Service Pension office were used as sacrificial lamb to appease the Senate. But time shall tell who is deceiving whom.”
He alleged that of the N282 billion, only N16 million was left in the vaults of the CBN, while accusing the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of setting up a parallel pension commission in her office to continue with the impunity that has become associated with pension funds in the country.
It would be recalled that the Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina’s PRTT was dissolved based on the insistence of the Senate, following his alleged refusal to honour the invitation of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Local Governments to appear before it.
Already, six officials of the Head of Service Pension Office are facing trial over allegations of corruptly enriching themselves with pensioners’ fund.
Last week, a Federal Capital High Court ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to confiscate the properties of Abubakar Kigo, former director in the Police Pension Office, before being made a permanent secretary and Mrs. Uzoma Atang, assistant director in the office, amongst others.
Source: Blueprint
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