PRESIDENCY INSISTS ON NOT PROBING DIEZANI OVER JET SCANDAL

The Presidency, insisted it would not probe the petroleum minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, because it does not possess the necessary documents needed to do so.

Dr. Doyin Okupe, the Senior Special Assistant to the Prseident, said this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday while reacting to the ongoing probe of the minister by the House of Representatives, also said the President had vowed not to condone any act of corruption from any quarters no matter how  highly placed.

He stated, “We wish to reiterate emphatically that President Goodluck Jonathan had never and will never condone any act of corruption no matter which quarters such may come from.”

“This clarification has become necessary as a result of a publication which suggested falsely that my response to the planned probe by the  House of Representatives on the hiring of a private jet by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation implied that the President was encouraging corruption.”

He added, “The true fact of the matter is that it is the House of Representatives that claimed to be in possession of certain documents relating to the leasing of private jets for which they decided to institute a probe.”

“The Presidency is not in possession of such papers neither has any petition relating to such issue been received by the Presidency. Therefore, the Presidency is not in any position to investigate a matter that it has no fact or presentation on.”

“It therefore becomes imperative that that the Presidency awaits the outcome of the on-going investigation by the House of Representatives before it can undertake any reasonable action.”

According to Okupe, the President in his determination to fight corruption in the country, endorsed and directed that an alleged non-remittance of about $10 billion into the national coffers by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation be subjected to a forensic audit by reputable international audit firms as suggested the minister of finance.

This he claimed, was a clear indication that President Goodluck Jonathan upholds integrity, openness and accountability in the affairs of government and will never tolerate a cover up of any act of corruption by any person or agency of government.