A former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has
denied granting an interview in London recently where she allegedly indicted
the current Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal.
There were reports that the ex-minister, who served
during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, spoke with
journalists in London during which she begged to be allowed to return home.
Mrs Alison-Madueke fled Nigeria in 2015 and has been in the
United Kingdom (UK). She faces corruption charges in Nigeria and the UK.
The purported London interview sparked diverse reactions with Mr Lawal’s allies saying the reports were to disparage him.
The former petroleum minister, in an exclusive interview
with PremiumTimes, described the report as “fake” and “concocted.”
“I did not grant an interview to anyone and therefore did
not say any of the things attributed to me. It is fake news concocted for
reasons I do not know,” Mrs Alison-Madueke told PREMIUM TIMES in the brief
interview Saturday evening.
In the earlier viral interview, Mrs Alison-Madueke was
reported to have implored President Bola Tinubu to permit her to return to
Nigeria “to confess to her financial misconduct during her tenure.”
The newspaper reported that Mrs Alison-Madueke spoke to the
press in London after a medical visit, and “expressed her readiness to disclose
details of the funds she allegedly misappropriated while in office.”
The newspaper quoted the former minister as saying, “I am
now a born-again Christian and currently grappling with the second stage of
cancer, for which my United Kingdom-based physician has advised me to continue
medication for the rest of my life. Yes, no one is flawless, but sometimes, God
Almighty permits such occurrences.
“I’ve been accused of financial misconduct during my tenure
as the petroleum minister, and it’s true. However, I would like President Bola
Tinubu and Nigerians to forgive me, allow me to return home, and contribute
because life is transient…”
Mrs Alison-Madueke, however, tdisclosed that she did
not grant the interview and that she did not say any of the things that were
credited to her.
In its reaction, the EFCC also denied authoring the post on
its Instagram handle
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, told THE PUNCH,
“The report is not from the EFCC. Anything that is not signed by me is not from
us (the EFCC).”
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