Former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, on Sunday described as dishonest allegation that he took loans from some of the five distressed banks to fund companies, whereas the historical accusation had been that he stole money from the public purse when he was at the helm.
He denied taking any personal loans, and argued that even if his companies did, that effectively nullifies the allegation that he stole money from government coffers.
A statement issued by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, said Ibori “takes exception to the deliberate targeting of his business and political associates in the base attempt to frighten people away from him. ”
It explained that Ibori “has at least 15 friends whose names appeared on that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) list of loan beneficiaries, but that does not mean he would have interest in all their companies. ”
Eluemunor wondered why the media would pick on an affidavit of no consequence to demonise Ibori; an affidavit sworn to in a court case in which he was not a party, and no charge brought against him.
Even then, he noted, a newspaper “still managed to lie about that affidavit, quoting it as proof that Henry Imasekha sold his Celtel shares to Delta State just a day after he bought it.
“The EFCC affidavit at item xxiii stated that, ‘while weeks later, Delta State Government bought five per cent of the Econet shares, ‘ that time frame also was another lie, but Hakeem Bello-Osagie ‘s newspaper, Next, compressed the weeks into just a day! ”
The statement reiterated that Ibori “sees nothing wrong in a bank extending loans to deserving companies. Even when companies default due to unforeseen circumstances, banks could guide them back to good financial health.
“What is unacceptable is if a debtor refuses, for no just cause, to pay back their loan. Otherwise, loan taking is as natural to companies as water is to a fish.
“Ibori maintains that as a Nigerian he has the right to pursue every legitimate business venture to improve the economy and provide employment for the people. He even hopes for the day when credits are routinely extended to ordinary Nigerians for small-scale businesses, car and home financing, et cetera, after all, students receive loans to pay school fees, overseas. All we need is to fine tune the loan recovery process. ”
Eluemunor insisted that “Ibori ‘s name is not on the CBN list of loan beneficiaries, ” and urged Nigerians “to note that where some detractors had earlier charged that he bought Notore Chemicals and Wilbros Nigeria with money stolen from Delta State, the new allegation is that the same Ibori took loans from two banks to buy the same companies. That is contradictory.
“Not even the affidavit sworn to by an EFCC operative at the Federal High Court Benin linked Ibori with the ownership of the two companies, except that it held that in 2001, four years before Notore bought the fertilizer company, the owners of Notore did business with Delta State through another company of theirs.
“What about the affidavits sworn to in court too that Ibori bought the two companies with money stolen from Delta state? Why are they not being dredged up now?
“The detractors should note that over a hundred charges have been brought against Ibori in court by (EFCC) and none has been dropped. He is still defending himself in a court of law.
“But this trial by media, and over spurious charges, and where the prosecutors also comprise the witnesses, as well as the Judges, and where the accused is not allowed a word in self-defence as though there is always one side to a story, is nothing short of media lynching – and (Ibori) has been a victim of this travesty for a long time now just because of politics. “