Mike
Oghiadomhe was removed as chief of staff by President Goodluck Jonathan
yesterday and his removal may be linked to his extensive corruption
profile.
President Jonathan reportedly asked Oghiadomhe
to resign after security agencies revealed his deep involvement in some
shady deals. First, in a Rice waiver scam used to fund Jonathan’s
Presidential Election in 2011, secondly in kerosene subsidy fraud. There
are reports linking him with some alleged shady deals in the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It emerged that Oghiadome
and a controversial businessman, Jide Omokore, owner of oil companies
Atlantic Energy Limited and Seven Energy, benefited immensely from the
N1 billion-naira-a-day Kerosene subsidy fraud.
According to
report, Omokore sent his wife, Angela, last week Tuesday to speak with
Jonathan in order to convince him that her husband did not partake in
the fraud, but Mr. Jonathan appeared unconvinced as the CBN governor
buffeted the nation with further revelation of massive fraud in the
petroleum sector and Nigeria’s Petroleum minister Mrs. Diezani
Allison-Madueke reportedly washed her hands off the fraud case claiming
that Oghiadome and Omokore shortchanged Nigerians in the deals.
When
the former Chief of Staff showed up for work at the Presidential Villa
in Abuja yesterday, he was asked to submit his resignation letter after
which he returned to his residence.
He was not subjected to any
questioning or surveillance and he is is unlikely to be asked to answer
to any of the accusations, leaving him free to do as he pleases with his
time and resources.
His removal is interpreted in many quarters
as the commencement of a cleansing exercise in the Presidency ahead of
the 2015 elections.
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