Oreilly, Chairman/CEO of the Chevron CorporationCHEVRON NIGERIA LTD has been indicted in an $10.8 billion tax fraud in Nigeria and the scandal is threatening to rock the boat of the whole multinational oil and gas companies in Nigeria.
The letter published below was sent to NIGERIAN TIMES by the consultants investigating Chevron Nigeria Ltd.
9th July, 2005
The Executive Chairman
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
Abuja.
Dear Mr. Nuhu Ribadu,
RE: $10.8 BILLION TAX EVASION, FRAUD AND CORRUPTION IN THE CHEVRON NIG LTD AND ITS ASSOCIATED COMPANIES.
Please refer to your orchestrated appearance and representation on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) programme ‘POINT BLANK’ as relayed on Thursday 28th July and Friday 29th July 2005.
We honestly sympathize with you for the messy and disappointing situation you may have found yourself. “To be fore warned is to be for armed”, is a common saying, but only the smart makes good use of it. If you had taken seriously our letter of 29th November 2004, which your office stamped upon receipt on 30th November 2004, you may have avoided the bait you swallowed. Copy of the said letter is attached for ease of reference.
Based on the letter under reference:
(i) how could you say that ABZ is not entitled to at least 10% of what is recovered from its effort.
(ii) how can you portray us as ‘419ers’ who have equally gone to FIRS, Nigeria Police, etc to extort money?
(iii) how can you confirm that you did not swallow the baits of the economic saboteurs in the country making your headship of the Commission a good radiance?
Mr Nuhu Ribadu, you claim to be a lawyer but your actions and reactions may not have portrayed you as one. Viz.
(i) A lawyer should have been able to differentiate between ABZ INTEGRATED LTD, a corporate legal entity and the individuals behind ABZ. It is only when the corporate entity has done wrong or any criminal activity that the veil of incorporation can be lifted. In your own case, you chose to malign and defame the character of the Managing Consultant of ABZ even when you have not established any criminal act on the part of ABZ. Mr Ribadu, you should have engaged ‘real’ lawyers to advice you appropriately instead of applying inappropriate and half-baked knowledge to address a professional issue that should be handled only by professionals.
Take notice that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission appointed ABZ INTEGRATED LTD and not it’s Managing Consultant as consultants. While Nuhu Ribadu acted on behalf of the Commission, Fidelis Uzonwanne acted on behalf of ABZ.
Mr Chairman, your showmanship on NTA programme’ POINT BLANK’, as relayed on Thursday 28th and Friday 29th July 2005 was a disaster, a negative image campaign for the country that claims to be fighting corruption. Infact, it would have been pardonable if that representation had been made by any person other than the headship of the EFCC. Please take a second look at the following:
1. You said ‘they are not even consultants, it’s an individual’: Refer to your letter of 24th August 2004 and confirm to yourself that you may have been confused. Although in this instance, it is ABZ that was appointed consultants, however, please stand corrected that an individual can still be a consultant.
2. The individual has information on all the companies in Nigeria: Did you ask how he got it? Do you not think that an intelligent and effective headship of the EFCC should have hooked up to this fellow’s information network, if EFCC is really prepared to fight economic and financial crimes?
3. Why was your presentation hinged on the recovery of $6.5 million, whether ABZ should be paid its due commission or not; why did you not comment on the report of findings on the Chevron Group submitted to you since 12th May 2005? The consultant identified a tax fraud of $2.7 Billion and relevant penalty of $8.1 Billion. Why did you not tell Mr Tonnie Iredia whether the contents of the report are true or false or challenge the consultant to an open debate on its representations or claims. You did not find it necessary but only chose to malign the character of the Managing Consultant of ABZ.
We know you have a legacy of not wanting to pay for services rendered by professionals.
4 If you confirmed that ABZ or its Managing Consultant has been going about extorting money from companies as you warned the ‘nation to be wary of such people’, what did you do? Are you saying that ABZ or ‘its Managing Consultant is the ‘criminal’ you cannot arrest. Remember that you had made this statement to the nation on Thursday 28/7/2005 before you deployed huge financial, material and human resources across the nation to source or bake information that will enable you arrest members of ABZ especially the Managing Consultant. This is consistent with your arrogance and high handedness. We know your effort is a desperate move to obtain any evidence to support your claims. Lawyers don’t behave that way. Even though EFCC ‘s slogan says nobody is above the law, it would appear that only Nuhu Ribadu is above the law. Our advice is that in exercising the enormous powers given to you under the EFCC law, there is need to observe the rule of law.
5.You claimed that the undersigned offered to share 10% Commission with you. We vehemently debunk that and consider it a cheap blackmail.
6.You confirmed that ABZ worked with EFCC for about one year. And within the one year period you were unable to discover that the company or its operatives were fake. If you can confirm your position, then the office of the Executive Chairman of EFCC is meant for a better Cop, if a Cop must be there.
7.Mr Nuhu Ribadu, you claimed that ABZ did not contribute much in the recovery of $6.5 million from Chevron. This is unfortunate. We sympathize with millions of Nigerians who look up to you as a messiah in the fight against corruption. A man that can lie so blatantly to the nation is untrustworthy and fraudulent. Your records as chief executive of EFCC will certainly show this shortly. Talking about this recovery for which you have taken credit all over the world, can you in good faith show any documents indicating that EFCC was investigating any company under Chevron Group before ABZ applied to assist the Commission. We wrote several reports to EFCC, indicating amongst others, that the $6.5 million was recoverable. We therefore positively wish to state that the recovery of $6.5million was absolutely based on reports and documents submitted by ABZ to EFCC. Your attempt to corrupt this truth further confirms the facts that you are not trustworthy. Recall, Mr. Chairman, when we made our case to you, we actually told you that there is still another recoverable $20 million from Chevron oil for the same period. Now that you claim to be an expert on this, are you in the position to prove this, because we have our facts and documents to establish this. Anyhow, there is no point belaboring this because the country now knows you are on the side of Chevron. Wish you luck!
8. One does not need to identify himself as a lawyer to interprete the appointment letter you gave to ABZ. As per clause one of the appointment letter dated 24 August 2004, you were supposed to make a case for the payment of ABZ’s professional fees. Did you do that, despite the letters of 29th October 2004, 9th November, 2004, 10th November, 2004, 24th November, 2004, 3rd December, 2004 and 12th January, 2005? All this were stamped upon receipt by your office and you did not have the courage to tell ABZ, this is where you went wrong and this is what I have decided to do as an autocrat. It is becoming clearer everyday that EFCC is Nuhu Ribadu and Nuhu Ribadu is EFCC. You have turned the lofty ideas of the establishment of the Commission into that of a private organization owned by Nuhu and run by Ribadu otherwise the professionals within your organisation ought to have let you know that the entitlement of ABZ is legitimate and proper and in line with international best practices. You are the person trying to “419”ABZ not the other way round. And you are deploying public resources under your control to further your wicked intensions: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Remember that the Qu’ran preaches against the use of power to hurt other people. There may soon be need to investigate the use of your powers. What most leaders like you tend to forget is the transient nature of power. Again, we wish you good luck.
9. EFCC was supposed to refund our re-imbursable expenses. Please provide evidence to the whole world to confirm how much you paid to ABZ as re-imbursable. We refer you to page 7 of our proposal, which was made after exhaustive discussions with you and understanding reached. Initial Re-imburseable Costs of N3.4 million was expected to be paid to us, you never did. We are aware that the profession, which you claim to belong, charges filing fees and any day a lawyer appears in court he is given something to take care of some expenses for that day. Mr Chairman, tell the world how many times you paid the N10, 000 sitting allowance and how much it amounted to. Also tell Nigerians if some of your Aides and Advisers who collect salaries at the end of every month received the same allowance or not. Mr. Chairman, if you are really sure of what you are doing, you should make public the financial records of EFCC, the spending pattern of its executive, the beneficiaries of contracts awarded by the Commission and other emoluments to you. Mr. Chairman, you are throwing stones while you are living in a glass house.
10.You claimed that the same man is accusing FIRS, EFCC, and Federal Ministry of Finance etc. No, that’s not true. The straw you are trying to hold on to is not a live-saving one. This sentiment of yours is not patriotic. You refused to do what is expected of you and we complained to the Finance Ministry. We understand you also refused to respond to their numerous letters requesting to state your own side of the story. Of course, this is expected of an autocrat.
You are the only man in the country that is above the law. Mr. Chairman, do not make Nigerians believe that the main issue under discuss is our fees. Far from it, tell Nigerians:
(i) Why you refused to comment on the report on the economic and financial crimes against Chevron, which can turn in over $10.8 Billion to government and effectively check corruption.
(ii) Why you choose to dwell on the trivial issues of recovery of $6.5 million and whether the consultant will be paid or not instead of addressing the issues raised in our advertorial.
11. As a lawyer who may consider himself as the appropriate person for the headship of EFCC, challenge ABZ INTEGRATED LTD to an open debate. This is necessary to put the records straight and re-enforce people’s perception of the anti corruption crusade.
12. As we have consistently stated since 1995, ABZ is in the position to assist:
(i) If actually the Government wants to fight corruption headon, we have the blue print to fight corruption at minimal cost.
(ii) If Government wants to generate more revenues for its operations, we can double the present level. Mr. Tonnie Iredia asked you to explain the issue of $10.8 Billion tax evasion and fraud allegation against Chevron. You evaded that completely but chose to malign an individual.
13. Mr. Chairman, please take this message to our ebullient, indefatigable and impartial President.
(i) Please help us wish him well, as we know he sincerely means well for this country if only agencies like EFCC can tell him the truth.
(ii) Please help tell him that we made a representation to government in 1998, identifying that if certain things are not done, no government policy will ever work. The document may still be in the Finance Ministry. Those things have not been done and Nigeria may remain a child at old age.
(iii) Also help us remind him that our effort along the line of what we have done on Chevron dates back to 1991.
14. Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, the individual you have maligned and discredited has done more for this country than you can ever imagine. This, we say with all sense of honesty and humility because your handling of this matter is a NEGATIVE contribution to national development. By shielding Chevron, you have shielded all other oil companies. By your public utterances and representations to the media, you have declared war on the truth, justice and fairness.
15. The under-signed is not afraid of death but the shame will be on well-meaning Nigerians if they should allow his life, effort or even death to be in vain. Whatever instructions you may claim to have received based on misrepresentation of facts and however you want to execute the brief, is under the watchful eyes of the Almighty God. He and only He sees our actions.
Please find attached copies of some invitations and appointment letters from those organizations you claimed we extorted money from. If you did not confirm from them before the show of shame on POINT BLANK, you have a second chance to put the records straight. Honest people should apologise for misinformation. However, we do not know if you cherish the tenets of honesty and sincerity as we do in ABZ.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, allow the companies accused of committing this financial crimes against the nation to defend themselves rather than engage in this diversionary tactics on behalf of the tax evaders. This certainly is most unpatriotic and will not work.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Long live Mr. President.!!
Managing Consultant. For: ABZ INTEGRATED LTD
No comments:
Post a Comment