A former chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Adamu Mu’azu, has finally admitted that he is the owner of 16 Osborne Road in Ikoyi, Lagos where agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently discovered a hoard of $50 million in cash.
According to SaharaReporters, Mr. Mu’azu admitted to owning the building through a telephone conversation between his London-based aide, Akin Oyegoke and one of their correspondents.
Nigerians, as well as other observers, have been scandalized since news broke yesterday that EFCC agents, acting on a tipoff from whistleblowers, raided the apartment in the upscale Ikoyi suburb of Lagos and found staggering sums of cash in US dollars, British pounds sterling as well as the naira, Nigeria’s currency. The stash of cash was found behind safes placed behind a false wall in Apartment 7B.
The stash of cash was found behind safes placed behind a false wall in Apartment 7B.
While the EFCC has yet to officially reveal the owner of the money, a senior source at the anti-corruption agency had told SaharaReporters that the cash possibly belonged to Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, an erstwhile director of retail at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Ms. Nnamdi-Ogbue
Ms. Nnamdi-Ogbue had been sacked three days ago over a scandal involving the illegal sale of 130 million liters of gasoline belonging to the NNPC. An EFCC investigator claimed that the fired NNPC executive collaborated with a controversial oil marketer, Ifeanyi Ubah, to enable the latter’s Capital Oil Company to sell the NNPC-owned gasoline.
Mr. Ubah is currently under detention in Abuja by agents of the Department of State Security (DSS).
However, earlier today Ms. Ogbue denied ownership of the funds but claimed that the owners were well known. One source stated that the apartment where the hoard of cash was discovered belonged to one of the daughters of a top PDP official, Anthony Anenih.
However, Mr. Muazu contacted SaharaReporters through his UK-based aide, Akin Oyegoke, and admitted that he built the house and began selling apartment units to buyers. He also claimed that the building still has some empty apartments yet to be sold. He also admitted that he reserved the penthouse at the building for his personal use.
Mr. Oyegoke would not disclose Mr. Muazu’s whereabouts but merely said that the former PDP chairman travels between Nigeria and several international destinations.
Mr. Muazu had initially denied the ownership of the property until SaharaReporters revealed the fact that a construction company, ETCO, which built the apartment complex listed him on their website as the owner/client.
