Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has disassociated herself from the $52.8 million recently repatriated to Nigeria from the United States, refuting claims that the funds belong to her.
In a statement titled “There is no such thing as Diezani Loot”, Alison-Madueke clarified that the money, allegedly linked to her in media reports, actually belongs to Nigerian oil magnate Kola Aluko. She stated that the funds were proceeds from the sale of a vessel seized by the U.S. government from Aluko, which were subsequently returned to the Nigerian government.
The statement, released through her counsel, Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), strongly denied the existence of any “Diezani Loot,” asserting that the reports are part of a deliberate campaign to tarnish her reputation.
Explaining the source of the funds, the former minister said, “We note with concern the recent deliberate attempt to link her with what has been described as a civil forfeiture of a yacht Galactica, the sale of which was said to have yielded $52.8m to the US government; which sum has since been repatriated to Nigeria.
“This is a clear example of the mischievous and cruel sport of tarnishing the image of the lady through a bouquet of consistent, persistent and unrelenting cocktail of falsehoods and misinformation.”
The statement further read, “The purveyors of this line of misinformation term it ‘name-and-shame’. To sell the storyline, the architects ensured they attached Diezani’s name to a recovered yacht which is not in any way linked to her. They now falsely termed it ‘Diezani loot’. Nothing of the sort ever happened. She was never involved in the purchase, use, and sale of the said yacht.
“The yacht Galactica, from information readily available in the public domain and in open sources, was purchased by Mr Kola Aluko who had used the vessel until he agreed to its forfeiture to the United States of America.”
Alison-Madueke described the reports as defamatory, urging those behind the allegations to desist from spreading falsehoods. “She was never involved in the purchase, use, and sale of the said yacht,” the statement added.
The former minister called on those peddling such narratives to use their time more productively and stop associating her name with unfounded allegations.