Former Defence Minister, Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, said the corruption record of ex-Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke betrayed his trust in the capacity of women to be above board.
Diezani is facing corruption charges both in Nigeria and UK where she escaped to after Muhammadu Buhari defeated her principal, the then President Goodluck Jonathan.
However, her prosecution has been taking place in absentia while the UK government is also prosecuting her for alleged bribery.
She is accused of receiving bribes as Nigeria’s petroleum minister in the form of cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets and the use of high-end properties in Britain in return for awarding oil contracts.
The former Army chief on Tuesday at Umuchigbo in Iji Nike, Enugu State, while inaugurating the Goodwill Medical Centre (GMC) built and equipped by the T. Y. Danjuma Foundation, said the 62-year-old betrayed his trust, saying he was of the opinion that women are more productive and was let down by the the mother-of-one’s corruption record.
“I used to say that if you want anything properly done and delivered on time without any excuses, give the job to a woman, until we had a female Minister of Petroleum. That woman excelled in corruption. She set a record that is yet to be beaten by anybody else,” the 84-year-old said.
He went on to say that Professor Uche Amazigo, the brain behind the project, restored his trust, saying, “So, I was in the process of reviewing that my statement when I met one lady, Prof. Uche Amazigo. Uche and I have come a very long way. My first encounter with Uche was around mid-October 2010 when she, accompanied by Mrs. Franca Ilamiji, another Igbo woman.
“Uche and I have been colleagues for many years. After working for T. Y. Danjuma Foundation, I thought I had seen the end of Uche. I was mistaken.
“In early March 2022, Prof. Uche, accompanied by two other female professors, presented to me a request to provide financial support for building and equipping a low cost high efficiency medical centre to provide excellent medical services by predominantly female medical doctors, nurses and midwives who chose to dedicate their time to humanity.
“I listened to her carefully and asked a few questions. I wanted to know if they had cash; the name of the organisation; and how she thought the all-female workers for a medical centre would function. She was ready for my questions.
“The result of all these questions is what you see here today. This magnificent edifice can only be built by women at the price they accounted to me.
“Men will take your money and you won’t see any building or money.”
