KEY POINTS
- The repatriated $52.8 million: Diezani Alison-Madueke denies ownership.
- She says the funds came from Kola Aluko’s forfeited yacht.
- Alison–Madueke says she condemns false information in public discourse and emphasizes on the need for accountability.
In a statement denying she had any connection to the recently repatriated $52.8 million, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, said:
Alison-Madueke, however, clarified that the funds were proceeds from the sale of a yacht, Galactica, belonging to Nigerian oil magnate Kola Aluko, in a statement released through her counsel, Prof Mike Ozekhome (SAN).
Clarifying ownership
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, Alison-Madueke called reports that linked her to the funds as ‘false and malicious’ and said she had no part in the purchase, use or sale of the yacht.
‘Information readily available in the public domain shows that Mr. Kola Aluko purchased the yacht Galactica and used it until it was forfeited to the United States,’ she said.
The proceeds from the sale of the vessel were later returned to the Nigerian Government.
Accusations of misinformation
The former minister expressed frustration, describing it as a deliberate attempt to further tarnish her reputation.. However, she vlogged and criticized the use of phrases like “Diezani Loot” as just one part of a sustained campaign of misinformation about her.
The statement said: “This is a clear example of her mischievous and cruel sport of trying to undermine her image through a cocktail of falsehoods and misinformation.”
Call for accountability
Alison-Madueke called on the public to concentrate on verifiable data, and asked those spreading defamatory stories to find more competent ways to invest their time.
In addition, it is the latest example of those tensions, as this incident once again emphasizes an immutable fact: just who is doing the reporting and who is being held accountable in such cases deserves the most rigorous scrutiny.
