Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has distanced herself from the recently repatriated $52.8 million to Nigeria from the United States, refuting claims that the funds are connected to her.
In a statement titled “There is No Such Thing as Diezani Loot” and issued through her counsel, Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Alison-Madueke clarified that the money originated from the sale of a yacht, Galactica, seized from Nigerian oil magnate Kola Aluko.
The former minister, who has been in the United Kingdom since leaving Nigeria, described reports linking her to the funds as “false and malicious,” accusing the purveyors of deliberately tarnishing her image.
According to her, the vessel in question was seized by the U.S. government, sold, and its proceeds returned to the Federal Government of Nigeria. She emphasized that she had no involvement in the purchase, use, or sale of the yacht.
The statement read in part:
“We note with concern the recent deliberate attempt to link her with what has been described as a civil forfeiture of a yacht, Galactica, the sale of which was said to have yielded $52.8m to the US government; which sum has since been repatriated to Nigeria.
“This is a clear example of the mischievous and cruel sport of tarnishing the image of the lady through a bouquet of consistent, persistent, and unrelenting cocktail of falsehoods and misinformation.
“They now falsely termed it ‘Diezani loot.’ Nothing of the sort ever happened. She was never involved in the purchase, use, and sale of the said yacht.”
Alison-Madueke urged those spreading defamatory narratives about her to cease their actions, stating that such misinformation serves no purpose other than damaging reputations.
This statement marks another chapter in the controversy surrounding allegations of corruption against the former minister, who has consistently denied wrongdoing.
