EFCC to Obaigbena: You Have 2 Weeks to Return The N670m

Publisher of ThisDay Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena has been given a two-week ultimatum by the EFCC to look for money and refund the N670million he allegedly collected without any contract.

Obaigbena had claimed that he never benefited from slush funds from the National Security Adviser.

He told investigators that the administration of Goodluck Jonathan paid the said sums to “ThisDay” and the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) as compensation for the bombing of the newspaper house by Boko Haram and the seizure of copies of many newspapers by the military.

But a source, who spoke in confidence said:
“What we are investigating is General Hydrocarbons. Records from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) indicated that Nduka Obaigbena is a director of the company.

“ONSA reported that General Hydrocarbons was one of the companies that received payments purportedly for contracts without contract documents or approval.

“Between December 8, 2014 and May 23, 2015, Obaigbena received N670million from ONSA. The reasons stated on the payment mandates are as follows: First tranche of N150million(environmental security project) and the remaining tranches(payment for energy consultancy)

“Obaigbena said he was paid compensation of N550 million for the bombing of “ThisDay” office in Abuja but there is no nexus between this payment and the money he collected for contracts. None of the sums shows that what he got from ONSA was compensation.

“The complaint before us is that the company was given money without contractual agreement.

“By all records, Obaigbena was paid for unexecuted contracts. It is government’s funds and he has to refund the N670million, “ an EFCC official told The Nation in Abuja.

Obaigbena had no choice but to sign an undertaking to refund the money in question.