A former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, yesterday denied having a hand in the alleged disappearance of N605 million during his tenure.
Orubebe made the denial in an interview with Vanguard, adding that the money was not taken during his tenure and that it was mischievous for anyone to link him with the said missing fund.
According to him, he had already resigned from the ministry before the said money went missing
Orubebe said: “I have heard them mention my name as if the money was taken under my watch. The truth is that I had left office before the money was allegedly taken. It did not happen during my tenure and that is what Nigerians should find out.”
Speaking further, Orubebe said he responded to the invitation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, in a bid to clear his name by stating his own side of the story.
“Yes, I went to the ICPC the other day to clear my name. I told them what I knew about the money said to have been stolen and made it clear to them that it did not happen under my watch”.
The former minister was invited by the ICPC in connection with the ongoing probe into the N605 million fraud.
The money was allegedly withdrawn from the Constituency Project Account of the ministry by five officials without authorisation, prompting the ICPC to drag the suspects to court
Yusuf Agabi (Director of Finance and Account), Akpore Okeroghene (Deputy Director of Finance), Abibu Ayinla (Director of Finance), Idowu Adewale (Deputy Director, Accounts) and Ngozi James (Deputy Director, Accounts) have been charged to court by the ICPC over the missing money.
