Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Allison-Madueke has denied reports that she has been lobbying elder statesmen including former Head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar to secure a soft landing after the expiration of the term of the present administration
Mrs Allison-Madueke who spoke to newsmen at State House, Abuja said she had committed no crime and would not be fleeing from the country before or after May 29
There have been a deluge of allegations in the media purportedly depicting the Petroleum Minister as a person that had run the affairs of the oil and gas sector with impunity and scarce regard for due process
But Mrs Allison MADUEKE says such allegations are in all entirety false and is even suggesting that the negative stories were the handiwork of a cabal
She claimed that the ministry under her watch embarked on some key reforms which the cabal could not manipulate to their regularly unguarded appetite for diverting national wealth. For this reason she said, there has been a sustained attack on her person and her activities in the ministry.
It will be recalled that one of the allegations against the Petroleum Minister is the $1.8bn said to be missing from the coffers of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation NNPC
The minister accused the same cabal of being responsible for the frequent queue seen in petrol stations in some cities accross the country. She said the NNPC has bridged the gap between anticipated supply by marketers and actual quantity of the product available to consumers.
HOMELAND NEWS may not be able to independently verify some of the claims by the minister at the moment, but what is certain is that this story is not over. And what the Petroleum Minister has strenuously tried to clarify will attract some rejoinders
