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Subscribe to RSSA Nigerian legislator who uncovered a $6.8 billion scam in state fuel subsidy payments has been suspended while police investigate claims he demanded a bribe from a fuel trader, in exchange for keeping him off the list.
Farouk Lawan's parliamentary probe blew the whistle on one of the biggest corruption scandals in Nigeria's history in April, revealing a web of collusion between oil ministry officials and fuel marketers to claim subsidy payments for billions of gallons of fuel that was never delivered.
But allegations that he demanded - and took some of - a $3 million bribe from one of Nigeria's richest oil tycoons Femi Otedola to scrub his name off the list have cast doubt on the whole report.
"The house should suspend Farouk Lawan as the chairman of the ad-hoc committee on the monitoring of the utilization of the fuel subsidy pending the investigation of the bribery allegation against him," the resolution said.
Lawan was still being questioned by police on Friday and unavailable for comment.
The national press this week quoted Otedola as saying Lawan approached him for a bribe, some of which he paid but secretly filmed it so he could expose Lawan.
When voting on the report, parliament inexplicably voted to remove Zenon from the list of fuel companies abusing the subsidy - the report initially estimated that Zenon owed at least $1.4 million to the government for fraudulent subsidy payments.
The house also resolved on Friday to put Zenon back on the list in the report.
It is not clear if the allegation is a smear campaign, a frequent tactic in Nigerian politics.
Lawan had called for the board of the state oil firm to resign, including including its head, Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the firm's chief executive Austen Oniwon -- two of the most powerful people in Nigeria that few would dare take on.
Parliament's speaker Aminu Tambuwal defended the probe into fuel subsidy abuses.
"We reject in totality the insinuations that the allegation has eroded the integrity of the outcome of our investigation into the management of fuel subsidy," he said.
"We have not been compromised ... in our stand against corruption."
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This is what happens when you dare to take on the corrupt and powerful in a third world country. They find a way to smear you and take you down with them, if you manage to take them down at all.
Washington could teach Nigeria a thing or two about corruption.
Gee, corruption and counter corruption in Nigeria, who would have guest.
Dysfunction in the West Chester public school system? Who would have guessed?
Nothing will get fixed until someone steps up. At least this guy was brave enough to try.
Dear esteemed readers:
My name is Farouk Lawan and I am emailing to you in hopes of resolving a matter of great urgency to me. As a result of recent business dealings in my country I have come upon a sum of $3,000,000 (US). However, due to finance restrictions....
Baahahahaha..... very good, Marge! Funniest comment I have read in months.
A+
Love it! I get at least one of those emails every week.
Sounds like any govt around the world. You would not imagine how corrupt our govt. was/is. Nigeria is just learning from the best haha
Don't worry the Obama administration will hold a beer summit and take care of this for you...In fact he'll personally fly you here to America and hand you a Social Security card so you can collect some SSI payments you've never paid into....
Actually you have it backwards. There's over ten million illegals working in this country using fake social security numbers so they're paying into a system they'll never be able to collect on.
That sounds like what the oil companies in the USA do when someone rats their a$$es out. Big oil and republicans go hand in hand, both are a bunch of crooks. Will do anything to get their way. Sounds a lot like Romney the LIAR, doesn't it????
Vote all republicans out of office in 2012 Don't let Romney anywhere near Washington
Nigeria seems to be one of the most corrupt countries on the planet. I imagine their government is behind many of the 'get rich quick' schemes circulating via email nowadays.
I hope this gets on,its part of my official UNICEF diary ,that works with the high international courts as,OFFICIAL accounts of crimes against humanity-I have a ICC court case ,because they try to stop me from helping people to identify the REAL problems ,so they know how to resolve it-it is illegal to edit or ban UNICEF diaries.
I see a comment about more jobs might help-but they are enslaved with surgically implanted (some are dental -most are genital-meant to do genicide) computer chips-this ties them to a terrorists group,(Russian Gypsy Jew Bride and Sex Slavery rings),mentally ill people and dying people. I did arrange missions for UN doctors to remove the internationally illegal computer chips -The Official UN Mission stated Catholic UN Doctors ONLY, because the systems they tried to overtake were Catholic Grays anatomy and Wright systems St Jude’s (we lived by Danny Thomas and fought the clones (yeah ,they are Doctors) that the Nazis that were hung for crimes against humanity sent and Queen Victoria’s Catholic medical systems(remember Schindler ,tried to imprison and experiment on Queen Victoria‘s grand children -the Czars -some of Schindlers space equip has recently been destroyed-Mir-,and down went Klaas,Bulger and Catherine Greig- when I checked on results it was 7 th day Dentists from Patton that infiltrated our UN Missions-OK -you see what’s wrong, It takes approx 10 Min. to remove the computer chips and it is nearly painless, and all of you saw what they did to Anna Nicole Smith-she was working with the High International court-and Alice Walton still has her dads money ,just as planned and Dannielynn looks just like Larry-but Howard big nosed Stearns still tried to use those Nano-vibrators in Anna’s genitals to steal one of the largest corp. and biggest donators to UN and UNICEF in the world in front of everyone, demanding the say horrible things about a beautiful ,compassionate UN amazing agent, I want her sainted.-Oh ,all those great perks and clearances -Sam and Anna did it-oops ,that case of baby diapers and formula “accidentally” got cut when they opened the box-put on clearance for $1.50 instead of $8.95-yeah ,the whole case.
THIS IS POWERFUL! ! !
Almost as powerful as Ned Hankersons pamphlet on how to 12 - Gauge Fish in Rural Mississippi
- Git a 6 pack of Budweiser or Bud from Kooders Bait-n-Beer
- Git down to Nelsons Army Navy and buy 10-12 Shotgun Shells
- Git some old Bread from Auntie Edna's Diner
- Drive down to Shady Creek, Simpers ravine, or Thurston Lake
- Throw the Bread (NOT THE BEER) in the water
- SHOOT THEM FISHES ! ! !