‘I shared Diezani’s N23b poll cash among Northeast states’

Mrs Usman

Former Finance Minister Mrs Nenadi Usman has shed light on how she shared N23 billion among Northeast states at the instance of former Petroleum Resources Minister Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke for the prosecution of last year’s presidential election.

She told Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) detectives that Alison-Madueke gave her the list of beneficiary states.

The cash is believed to have been set aside by the Jonathan administration to bribe Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials during the election. But Jonathan lost the election to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Alison-Madueke was said to have sourced the money from some oil companies.

Mrs Usman, who was Director of Finance of the Presidential Campaign Organisation,  spoke when she went for another interrogation by the EFCC, The Nation learnt yesterday.

She said she shared N1.850 billion to party stalwarts in Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa and Taraba states through Senator Babayo Garba (Bauchi), Senator Saidu Umar Kumo(Gombe), former Governor James Ngilari  (Adamawa),  former acting Governor Sani Abubakar Danladi and  Senator Joel Ikenya (Taraba).

A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Following fresh facts, ex-Minister Usman was invited to Gombe Zonal office of the EFCC on Monday for interrogation on the billions of naira that were shared to  all the states in the Northeast through her for the re-election of the former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“We decided to grill her at the zonal office as part of the final lap of our investigation on the disbursement of the slush funds in the Northeast and arraignment of suspects with prima facie cases.

“Mrs. Usman told the EFCC during interrogation that she met the former Petroleum Minister Mrs. Alison Madueke who gave her a paper containing a specific amount of money to be given to each state  of the federation and   directed her as the  director of finance in the build up to 2015 presidential election  to  contact and send all the representatives  of  every state  to go to  the   Fidelity Bank and collect the  campaign slush funds so as to deliver the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) across the country.

“The former finance director Usman  told the zonal office of the commission that  Bauchi State got  N500 million through Senator Garba; Gombe State, N450 million through Senator Kumo;  Adamawa State N450 million through former Governor Ngilari;  Taraba State, N450 million through the former acting Governor Danladi and Senator Ikenya.

“Nenadi Usman admitted to the EFCC that she did not know the source of the fund as she claimed that Madueke collected the paper that contained the details of the amount.

“ But  she said she had reported to the head office of the EFCC in Abuja and Kano, Lagos and Gombe zonal offices of the commission to clarify how the multi-billion naira campaign bribe money was shared to the big wigs of the PDP across the country.

“The suspect has been granted administrative bail by the Gombe zonal office of the commission pending the full investigation of the matter.”

Last June 28, the EFCC arraigned Usman and three others for  allegedly laundering N4.9 billion.

The others are former Minister of Aviation Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, Danjuma Yusuf and a company, Joint Trust Dimension Nig. Ltd.

Usman had earlier been interrogated in connection with the withdrawal of  about N3.145 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which was paid into the accounts of six PDP chieftains and Goodluck Support Group (GSG). At the prompting of the former president, N3.145billion was withdrawn from the CBN under the guise of security needs for disbursement to party chieftains.

The cash was transferred into the account of Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited, a company traced to Usman, where it was later shared to individuals and organisations for purposes that were  not stated.

The largesse was shared as follows: Fani-Kayode (N840million); Goodluck Support Group (N320million); Achike Udenwa and Viola Onwuliri (N350million); Nenadi Usman (N36.9million); Chief Olu Falae N100m through Marreco Limited; and Okey Ezenwa (N100million).