The federal government may have launched an investigation into the possible involvement of former President Goodluck Jonathan with the spate of bombings that have crippled the country’s oil industry and affected its power generation capabilities.
The DAILY TRUST reported that a hushed up investigation is already underway to establish the extent of the former President’s involvement in the series of bombings of the country’s oil and gas infrastructure which has reduced the country’s crude oil production.
Both the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun and the Minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu have said that Nigeria’s current crude oil production rate will not be enough to fund the over N6 trillion 2016 budget.
Adeosun had even said that the country is technically in recession.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, had repeatedly alleged that the former President is complicit in the bombing of oil installations, an allegation he denied.
DAILY TRUST sources in the investigations said that suspicion of Jonathan’s involvement with activities of militants in the Niger Delta region “was further strengthened after it emerged that one of the groups that threatened to declare a Niger Delta republic was dissuaded from doing so by Mr Jonathan.”
However, the newspaper said that when it spoke to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, he said that “he was not aware that the former president was being investigated by security agencies over allegations linking him to the spate of bombings by militants in the Niger Delta region.”
Mohammed however added that “these allegations have refused to go away, and those making the allegations are not backing out. So I will not be surprised if the security agencies show interest in it, but I am not aware.”
The paper said it could not reach Jonathan or his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, for comment.
But another of Jonathan’s former aides who pleaded anonymity said that the ex-president had earlier this month denied the allegations when it was first made by MEND.
On August 7, Jonathan’s aid, Eze, issued a statement denying the claims by MEND and adding that MEND were after the former president’s life.
Recall that during the campaigns for the 2015 presidential election, ex Niger Delta agitators had at various times threatened to make the country ungovernable if Jonathan lost at the polls.
