•FG failed to prosecute indicted persons in Halliburton scandal
The public outcry that greeted the Halliburton and Siemens scandals has not dampened the appetite for bribe and corrupt enrichment in Nigeria, according investigations by BusinessDay.
On one hand, the government and its agencies have consistently failed to prosecute known parties in the Halliburton and Siemens scandals and on the other, cases like that of the giant shipbuilder Heerema shows that the appetite for bribery has not gone down in Nigeria.
Officials of the US embassy in Nigeria say the US government has provided to Nigeria all information required to launch a successful prosecution of Nigerian accomplices in the Halliburton case but the former Justice Minister Michael Aondoaka pointedly failed to commence any prosecution while he served in that office.
"We have done our own bit by providing to the government of Nigeria all the relevant information about the case and the parties involved. We cannot prosecute the people in Nigeria for you," a senior US diplomat said in Lagos recently. The US position is in sharp contrast to that often stated by the Nigerian government and it now seems that when the justice ministry requested information from the US, the intention was not to bring about a case against the accomplices in the Halliburton case.
One Nigerian government official clearly upset about the ugly turn of events involving Heerema said "it is very sad that this happened, especially given that the mess was taking place at the same time there was national public outcry over the Halliburton and Siemens bribery scandals."
One of the immediate losses Nigeria will suffer as a result of Heerema pulling out from the country is that the giant Bonga floating production and offloading (FPSO) vessel will now need to be taken to Heerema's shipyard in Holland in March year when the vessel is due for scheduled maintenance. Another loss is the N1.2 billion lease payment that would have gone to the Navy simply by leasing out a property built for it by the contractor Spidbat but which has not been in use for more than eight years.
In addition, there is the loss of up to 4,000 direct and indirect jobs that would have been created by the project. Heerema works with the leading international oil companies (IOCs) around the world, including Angola and their presence in Nigeria would have contributed immensely to saving cost and helping in technology transfer. Finally the facility would have reverted to the Federal Government at the expiration of the lease.
Source: Outcry over Halliburton fails to dampen appetite for bribe (http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php/news/9248-outcry-over-halliburton-fails-to-dampen-appetite-for-bribe)