The former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Peter Orubebe, Monday, has reacted to the invitation extended to him to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, on November 9, 2015.
According to him, his prosecutors are looking for something out of nothing to dent his hard earned integrity. He further said he is being persecuted due to the diligent role he played as an agent of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, at the presidential election result collation Center in Abuja.
It will be recalled that he temporarily stopped the collation of election results which was viewed live on national television during the 2015 General Elections.
Elder Orubebe is accused of wrong assets declaration and bribery by the Code of Conduct Tribunal
Orubebe, while defending the actions he termed as his ‘unequivocal loyalty’ to former President Goodluck Jonathan, pointed out that, no amount of intimidation will force him to compromise standards.
The former minister who wondered why he has become the demolition target of some political powers in the country because of his role at the collection Center where he sought for fairness and justice, said, “I will never compromise standards even when all odds are against him.”
He said he does not regret working for Jonathan the same way he does not regret supporting incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in 2003 as state Chairman of ANPP in Delta State.
He said, ‘it is no longer news that I supported President Muhammadu Buhari committedly and deligently when I was the state Chairman of ANPP in Delta State where I worked hard with nine (9) other state chairmen to ensure PMB’s emergence as party flag bearer in 2003.’
The former minister who recalled that he visited Dutse in late night because of PMB in 2003 said, it is wrong to attempt to humiliate a just man who contributed so much to set the country on the path of greatness but visiting the creeks to preach peace and the need to embrace ceasefire, a feat that has better the nation’s lot.
Orubebe who believes that his prosecutors are looking for something out of nothing to dent his hard earned integrity said, ‘Nigerians are witnesses to the litany of illegalities being woven by desperate politicians.
This bunch of allegations of bribery and others levelled against me and my trial in the public domain is an attempt to rob me of my respect and am not unaware that I became the prime demolition target because of my overt and unalloyed support for former President Jonathan.
He said, ‘if for the show of loyalty to former President Jonathan and my party that am being lynched, then, the decision on appropriate reaction belongs to sincere Nigerians.
On the alleged bribe of N50m, he said, as a minister of God, I built a Christian Center which I named ‘Glory Sanctuary’ a semi Christian library and a sort of Bethel for pastors and Christians. As a founder, I inspected their financial book and discovered a huge N20m in their account and demanded to know the source.
I was told it was a Nicodemus ‘seed faith’ from the petitioner and I quickly ordered them to refund the money on October 23, and later to the petitioner on October 24 of the same 2012 .’
“The bank statements are there as evidence and even the EFCC and the Force Headquarters can be contacted to ascertain my facts,” he stated.
The former minister also declared that he neither demanded nor collected bribe throughout his six-year tenure as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He said he was convinced that the CCT was out to frame him given the way it had already begun his trial in the media when he had only been served with the summons to appear before the court on November 9, 2015.
He said: “I was served with Code of Conduct Tribunal summons on Friday last week and the paper, which I personally signed and collected, stated that I was expected to appear before them on November 9. I was taken aback by the news that I had already been arraigned. This tells me that it is an issue of witch-hunt which is not good for this country. It is not good to take me to the public court before being tried. The issues contained in the summons are that I took N50 million bribe from one of the contractors who handled a project for the Ministry of Niger Delta and another N20 million from the same contractor as well as not declaring my plots of land in Asokoro and Kyame districts of Abuja. I find these charges very empty and frivolous.”