Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has said the allegations of corruption leveled against his person were made to tarnish his image.
The Ministry of Petroleum Resources said a statement Monday from Abuja that the persons peddling the character assassination rumour will fail.
Director of Press, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Idang Alibi who signed the statement said ” Ibe Kachikwu is a well-known individual and public official who has no stain on his character and every effort by mischievous and wicked individuals to prove otherwise shall fail woefully.”
A group called Patriots of Anti-corruption League (PAL) in a report entitled “EFCC, Magu Shielding Kachikwu from Prosecution,” alleged that the anti-corruption agency is covering up corruption allegations against the minister, some individuals and four companies they claim to have been involved in petroleum subsidy fraud.
“The invidious effort to impugn Kachikwu’s integrity first started in 2016 when a shadowy group of people came out with a claim that Kachikwu, in collaboration with some individuals and some oil and gas companies, had a case to answer in relation to oil subsidy fraud, a claim the EFCC thoroughly investigated and discarded because there was no substance to it.