Foreign media is reporting that a former Nigerian Minister of
Petroleum Resources, who is now the subject of a corruption probe, was
planning to flee to Dominica before her arrest.
But the island’s Prime
Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says Dominica neither encouraged nor offered
Diezani Alison-Madueke residency there.
And while he acknowledged that his government had appointed Madueke
Trade and Investment Commissioner for Dominica – an honorary, unpaid
position with the specific remit of promoting and marketing Dominica’s
trade and investment opportunities –, Skerrit said the administration
cut ties with her after her arrest two and a half months ago, pending
the outcome of the investigations.
“Our position is that the relationship with Mrs. Madueke and all that
flows from this will remain completely suspended until such time as the
probe into her conduct as a Minister of Government is concluded and a
determination made by the relevant authorities,” Skerrit has insisted.
Madueke is under investigation in United Kingdom, where she now
resides, for alleged corruption while in office. The 55-year-old who is
ongoing breast cancer treatment was arrested on October 2 along with
four others and subsequently released on bail.
Reports in Nigeria say that the ex-minister had secretly acquired a
five-year Dominican diplomatic passport, DP0000445, issued on May 21,
2015, and had intended to move to the island. The Sahara Reporter
claimed that Skerrit had confirmed Madueke’s citizenship in a letter
dated May 29, 2015 which was addressed to one of the UK’s
anti-corruption and civil society groups.
“I think the NCA [National Crime Agency] is suspecting that she
acquired the citizenship of the Commonwealth of Dominica with the intent
to relocate to this country. This has opened a fresh bend into our
investigation. “It is not impossible
that she had planned to escape to Dominica ahead of the inauguration of
the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari because her appointment
ought to be effective from June 1, 2016 for an initial period of three
years. She has been placed under stricter surveillance in the light of
the latest development.”
But in a statement issued yesterday, the Skerrit administration
sought to clarify its dealings with Madueke, insisting that the idea of
her relocating to Dominica was never discussed, far less agreed, in any
discussions with her or on her behalf.
In fact, the prime minister said, talks surrounded her continued
residence in the UK and ability to travel to Africa to assist Dominica.
He explained that in May of this year, during a routine stop-over
visit to London, Madueke was introduced to him as the immediate past
Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria and also immediate past
President of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“The academic and professional credentials of Mrs. Madueke were
impeccable. She had been a senior government minister since 2007, having
served also as Minister of Transport and Minister of Mines and Steel
Development.
Additionally, she served as an Executive Official and Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria,” Skerrit said.
“In my Budget address to the people of Dominica two years ago, I
outlined the intention and policy of my Government to recruit persons of
experience, influence and integrity to serve and represent Dominica in
various capacities abroad. As a small nation with very limited
resources, we do not have the capacity to establish consular or other
offices in many regions of the world.
In this case, who better to speak
for and on behalf of Dominica in parts of the African continent than a
former President of OPEC and former Chairman of the West African Gas
Pipeline Authority?”
It was against this background that, on the recommendation of “a
number of outstanding individuals of note” and after thorough due
diligence that the government agreed to appoint Madueke as Trade and
Investment Commissioner.
“The issue of her relocating to Dominica was never raised in any of
our discussions, because at the time Mrs. Madueke was to my knowledge in
good standing in Nigeria and United Kingdom, having only just demitted
office in Nigeria and established living arrangements in the United
Kingdom,” Skerrit insisted.
“The arrangement of Mrs. Madueke serving in an honorary capacity,
with no direct remuneration from Dominica, and Dominica facilitating her
travels across Europe and Africa with the issuance of a diplomatic
passport, was entirely in accordance with existing convention, protocol
and practice, until the very recent and unexpected development of the
investigations by UK and Nigerian authorities.
This development was not
foreseen nor anticipated by the due diligence undertaken on behalf of
the government, and could not have been and was not foreseen by me or
the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica.”
Skerrit said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had moved to suspend all relations with Madueke immediately following her arrest.
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