The Corruption Mascot called Goodluck Jonathan by Ayobami Oyalowo

By Ayobami Oyalowo, SaharaReporters
Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it’s set rolling it must increase.
~ Charles Caleb Colton.

The mask is off, the veil and façade of ‘fighting corruption’ has been yanked off by the man himself. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is now the Poster Boy for corrupt leadership the world over. Jonathan became the president of Nigeria with no positive antecedent or manifesto to develop or make Nigeria a better place to live in. He rode to power on the back of base sentiments without any known achievements nor blueprint to show. He was “our” son. What most people who voted or supported him did not know was that he is an indicted felon. Hold your stone, before you hurl expletives at me, see the next paragraph….

From his antecedents, Jonathan is corruption personified and I say this without any fear or favour. However, intellectual laziness has blinded most of us from researching his past. Here is a little snippet into the past of Mr. Jonathan, a creation of the corruption he unashamedly tells people that he is fighting: In 2006, he was indicted for false declaration of assets by a Joint Task Force (JTF) on corruption that was set up by Obasanjo’s government. That powerful panel was headed by Nuhu Ribadu, who was then chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The Joint Task Force said Mr. Jonathan was in possession of illegally-acquired property such as homes and exotic cars, all of which he could not explain within his legitimate income. While he was invited for hearing, he claimed he bought them from his “savings”. Meanwhile, he was a lecturer preceding his becoming a deputy governor. Kindly see for yourselves the worth of the properties which were bought from Mr Jonathan’s ‘savings’ as a teacher: seven-bedroom duplex worth N18 million at Otueke Ogbia LGA acquired in 2001; a four-bedroom duplex, valued at N15 million at Goodluck Jonathan Street, Yenegoa, acquired in 2003; and a five-bedroom duplex, at Citec Villas, Gwarimpa II – Abuja, valued at N25 million, also acquired in 2003. There were also two cars: a Lexus Jeep valued at N18 million; and a BMW 7351 Series worth N5.5 million. If you check the dates the purchases were made from 2001, it was just two years after GEJ became a deputy to a criminal Governor Alameyeisigha, convicted for fleecing Bayelsa state dry. The same Alameyeisegha Jonathan gleefully called “my mentor” and for whom he has now maneuvered a State pardon.

Does Mr. Jonathan have the right to grant such a pardon? Absolutely! If so, why the hue and cry by “ignorant” Nigerians and “noisy” opposition figures? Well you may wish to glean into the “wonderful” past of Mr. DSP, who was alleged to have been dismissed from the Nigerian Air-force on charges bordering on stealing and sundry offences.

Mr. Alamieyeseigha, whom Mr. Jonathan recently described as his political mentor, is a fugitive who jumped bail in the United Kingdom. He was first elected governor on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in 1999 and re-elected in 2003 after his first term in office.

On September 15, 2005, while serving his second term, he was arrested at the London Heathrow Airport by the Metropolitan Police on the suspicion of money laundering. After he was granted bail, Mr. Alamieyeseigha jumped bail in December 2005 and bolted to Nigeria allegedly disguised as a woman after fooling U.K. border officials.

He was eventually impeached by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly in December 2005.

The U.K. authorities seized $1.5 million (N225 million) cash stashed in his London home as well as $2.7 million (N405 million) held in bank accounts at Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and Santolina Investment Corporation. His London real estate valued at $15 million (N2.25 billion) was also seized by U.K. authorities.

An adept criminal, Mr. Alamieyeseigha had spread his stolen monies across notorious tax havens and offshore destinations such as the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and Seychelles. Others were hidden in the U.K. and South Africa.

“His scattered stolen funds posed some difficulty for anti-fraud agents who were keen on confiscating the slush fund. But after he pleaded guilty to money laundering at home, it opened the way for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to apply for a disclosure order for evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police. This was used alongside evidence of Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s income and asset declaration to obtain a worldwide restraining order covering all assets owned directly or indirectly by Alamieyeseigha and a disclosure order for documents held at banks and by Alamieyeseigha’s associates,” reports the World Bank’s Stolen Assets Recovery initiative (STAR).

Also, with the help of South African detectives, he forfeited his luxury penthouse in South Africa. He also lost assets in Cyprus and Denmark.

The list of assets and properties in the Code of Conduct Assets Declaration Form submitted by Mr Alamieyeseigha to the Code of Conduct Bureau in 1999 before becoming governor included:

• Five buildings with a total value of N50 million.
• 25 plots with a total value of N2.5 million.
• He owned a company, Pesal Nigeria Ltd. with a capital of Nl00, 000.
• He had four vehicles he acquired between 1982 and 1998 with a total value of N10 million.
• He had an account with Diamond Bank Plc, Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt, A/C No.0136900013 with a balance of N5 million.
•Cash in hand was N100,000.00.

His Asset Declaration Form signed on 25th of April, 2003 when running for re-election, contained the following assets:

•Six buildings acquired between 1985 and 2002 with a total value of N70 million and annual income of N3.5 million.
•He has 27 plots acquired between 1985 and 2001 with a total value of N5 million.
•Six vehicles acquired between 1982 and 2003 with a total value of N14.8 million.
•One boat acquired in 2002 with a value of N2.5 million.

In his Assets Declaration Form signed on 2nd December 2003, we had the following:

• Seven buildings acquired between 1985 and 2003 with a total value of N77 million and annual income of N4.5 million.

Additional information on the buildings and plots revealed the following:

• 5, Khana Street, D/Line, P/H – Storey building,
• 5, Khana Street, D/Line, P/H – 3 Bedroom Bungalow,
• 4, Tombia Street, G.R.A., P/H – Detached Duplex,
• 2, Oniye, lyana Ipaja, Lagos – 5 bedroom bungalow,
• Amassoma – duplex/bungalow,
• Opolo, Yenagoa – Duplex
• 3, Williams Jumbo, P/H – Duplex
• lyana Ipaja, Lagos – 3 plots
• Isolo, Lagos – 1 plot
• NTARoad,P/H – 4 plots
• Yenagoa, Bayelsa – 17 plots
• Amassoma – 2 plots

Properties, companies and bank accounts in Nigeria and abroad acquired by Mr. Alamieyeseigha after assumption of office as the executive governor of Bayelsa State were:

i) That he holds a personal bank account with Barclays Bank Plc which was opened on 5 January 2004 and the balance stood at £203,753.34 as of 15th February 2005.

ii) He holds a personal bank account with HSBC, London, but the account was closed sometime in March 2003 while all the money in the account was transferred to Santolina Investment Corporation’s account with National Westminster Bank, London.

iii) It was confirmed that he is the sole Director of Santolina Investment Corporation and sole signatory to the company’s account with National Westminster Bank with A/c No. 10182819 Sort Code 15-00-25 in London.

iv) He also holds personal account with Bond Bank in Lagos which was opened sometime in January 2004 and the balance stood at N105-14.942.61 as at 16th September 2005 and another personal account in Oceanic Bank Plc, as follows:-

The Salo Trust in the names of Enitonbrapa Alamieyeseigha, Embelakpo Alamieyeseigha, Ebipadei Alamieyeseigha, Oyamuyefa Alamieyeseigha, Saleaka Alamieyeseigha and Margaret Alamieyeseigha.

v) He holds an account with Bank of America in the name of Peter Alamieyeseigha with account number 0054 8256 2491 which balance stood at $1,600,000.00 as of August 2003.

vi) The sum of GBP 1,350,000.00 being the annual premium for Insurance Policy No. 1E1/0405/0012/AR/HQ m respect of the Kolo Creek Power Station Yenagoa, has been traced in an account at Barclays Bank, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7NT, A/C No. 80041262, Sort Code 20-47-35, IBNrGB 87 BARC 2047 3580 0412 62SWIFT BICGB22 held by a certain First Investment & Finance Corporation. The premium is for an All Risks Cover for the Gas Turbine for a period between 22/6/2005 and 21/6/2006.
Properties in London

•247, Water Gardens, London, W2 2DG, which is the registered
address of Solomon & Peters Ltd. This property was purchased
for £1.75 million on 20/8/2003

•14, Mapesbury Road, London, NW2 4JB. This property was
purchased for £1.4 million on 6/7/2001

• Flat 202, Jubilee Heights, Shoot uphill, London, NW2 3LJQ,
purchased for the sum of £241,000.00 on 28/10/99.

• 68-70, Regent’s Park Road, London, N3 which was purchased in
July 2002 for the sum of £3 million.

i) All the property listed above have a combined value in excess of £381 million

ii) He had almost £1.9 million in a Royal Bank of Scotland account belonging to his company Santolina for which he had requested to be transferred to an account in Cyprus.

iii) Four transfers to the tune of Euro 2.36 million were made from Bayelsa State Ministry of Works Account held by Allstates Trust Bank to Germany through Commerz Bank, London at a time when Chief D. S. P. Alameyesigha was receiving treatment in a German hospital.

Properties in South Africa

i) It has also been established that he owned a property at V & A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa worth over £1 million.

ii) Royal Albatross Properties 67 is a company registered in September 2005 in Cape Town, South Africa. This company is also believed to be owned and controlled by Chief Alamieyaseigha.

Properties in the United States

i) 504, Pleasant Drive, King Farm Estate, Maryland USA,
ii) 15859, Aurora Crest Drive, Whither, California, USA, 906

(Courtesy Premium Times)

That was the CHARACTER that the Nigerian Council of State at its meeting, attended by three former heads of states and some state governors on Tuesday March, 2013, approved a presidential pardon for. Note that the Nigerian constitution guarantees the president discretionary powers to grant presidential pardon and the council of state is merely advisory in nature.

Word out there is that Mr. Alamieyaseigha was pardoned preparatory to his eventual journey to the National Assembly as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Lord Have Mercy!!!

By this singular action, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has shown the world and whoever cared to listen that he is not interested in fighting corruption as he recently said corruption was not Nigeria’s problem. Therefore he will be best advised to stop deceiving himself, pretending to fight corruption. It is time to disband the EFCC, ICPC and all other CLOWNS masquerading as agencies fighting corruption in Nigeria, because we ain’t fighting no corruption. Corruption is the MIDDLE NAME of this mascot called Jonathan, who unfortunately is our president. It is also time to throw open all the prison gates and pardon every known felon since (according to the reasoning of Mr. Jonathan) they have all suffered enough.

Revelation 22:12 : And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give unto every man according as his work shall be.