$9.6bn Judgment: Who Signed The P&ID Deal If Yar’Adua Was In Coma?

Revelations about the $9.6bn judgment against the federal government keeps surfacing daily as the ill-fated deal has created a negative impact on the image and revenue of the country.

Naija News gathered that the ill-fated deal drama started at a strategic time when the president of the country, Umaru Yar’Adua was already in a coma and could not have signed the deal.

So far, detectives have discovered that the GSPA was signed on January 11, 2010 when Yar’Adua was already in coma. There was no evidence of presentation to the Federal Executive Council(FEC).

However, Preliminary investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) indicated that the contract was signed by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

“They took advantage of Yar’Adua’s illness and vegetable state. Even ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, who took over as Acting President cannot say much about it because the agreement was done in a suspicious manner and limited to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources”, a source said.

The source also said that the anti-graft agency is probing the likelihood of the forgery of the signature of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwan Lukman, who was known for his high ethical standards.

According to the revelations monitored by Naija News on the Nation, the alleged culprit of the forgery might be the former legal director of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Grace Taiga, who was said to be central to the negotiation between the Federal Government and P&ID.

“The whereabouts of a former Director of Legal in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Grace Taiga was unknown. Our detectives have not been able to get across to her. We need her assistance. She superintended over the GSPA six months to her retirement.

“We are probing clues that Lukman’s signature might have been forged for the deal. He was a meticulous and an experienced international stakeholder in OPEC. Those who worked with him expressed doubts that he would sign such an agreement without FEC approval.

“We are suspecting a case of forgery. We will do forensic analysis of all relevant documents.”

Meanwhile, it was also learnt that the EFCC team discovered from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) that there is another firm registered as P&ID Nigeria Limited with two Nigerian directors.