Aiteo Denies Having Corrupt Relationship with Alison-Madueke

Aiteo Denies Having Corrupt Relationship with Alison-Madueke



Aiteo Group has described as scandalous and defamatory, a publication alleging without any foundation whatsoever, that the company maintained a corrupt relationship with the erstwhile Nigerian Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

According to a statement issued last Saturday by the Senior Manager in charge of Corporate Communications at Aiteo Group, Mr. Ndiana-Abasi Matthew, the company stated that any objective reader of the defamatory article published by an online newspaper, Premium Times, “would readily come to the irresistible conclusion that the publication is, to all intents and purposes, prejudicially designed to tarnish the image and reputation of the company as well as that of our Executive Vice Chairman.”.

“As some of these matters are sub-judice, we are unable to comment entirely on all issues raised. However, global best practice demands that we tender this rebuttal for the sake of shareholders, host communities, over 11,000 people who derive their livelihood from the company and the general public,” said the statement.

The company further said at no time in its history, had any of its directors or employees ever been involved in any form of criminal or immoral business, other conduct or activity with the former Petroleum minister, any NNPC or other government official or agent.

Aiteo also said it never benefitted from the Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) referenced in the article.

“We were a major player in the Nigerian oil sector importing petroleum products for NNPC and exporting naphtha, fuel oil and condensates and already a flourishing and prosperous group by any standards long before Mrs Alison-Madueke’s appointment as Minister of Petroleum Resources. Aiteo’s core area of business has been the trading and distribution of sundry petroleum products since its inception in 1999. Furthermore, the NNPC has publicly confirmed that no Aiteo entity is indebted to NNPC or any of its subsidiaries,” Aiteo said.

The company said, “The article purported that Aiteo has been linked to the alleged 2015 INEC bribery scheme but failed to state in which way it arrived at this conclusion simply because no such reality exists. It is only those seeking to deliberately besmirch the hard-earned reputation of Aiteo as Nigeria’s foremost indigenous oil and gas company that will dubiously link the company, in the manner that the publication has done.”


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