Former minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke has denied claims that $52.8 million recently returned to Nigeria from the United States is linked to her.
The ex-minister, currently in the United Kingdom, clarified that the money belongs to Nigerian oil magnate Kola Aluko, not her.
In a statement issued through her lawyer, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, Alison-Madueke dismissed reports connecting her to the funds, describing them as false.
She explained that the money was part of the sale proceeds from a vessel, the Galactica, which was seized by the US government from Aluko.
The vessel was later sold, and the funds were returned to Nigeria.
Alison-Madueke stated that the allegations against her were part of a smear campaign aimed at damaging her reputation.
She also urged those spreading misinformation to focus on more constructive activities.
The statement reads in part: “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 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.”
