Okupe, former Senior Special Assistant on public affairs to Nigeria's former president, Goodluck Jonathan, has clarified on the N100 million he collected from former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
Okupe in a statement he released on Sunday gave a breakdown of how the money was expended saying he chose to make clarifications based on reports in circulation that he was involved in N162million and N85million fraud.
As stated by Okupe, the N100 million was paid in two tranches, just as he stressed that Jonathan ordered Dasuki to pay him N50 million from the former president’s security vote.
Okupe added that he received the N50 million balance after he told Jonathan that his monthly had been cut from N10 million to N5 million.
“The initial N50m was approved by the president to be paid to me from his security vote. N10m was to furnish my rented living apartment and another N10m for my office. The balance N30m was approved as take-off grant,” the statement stated.
“The N10m I received from the ONSA monthly was to run my office, pay salaries of staff, including overheads, pay expenses for our numerous press conferences, pay for publications in newspapers, magazines, local and foreign, television programmes, bulletins, and media consultants who assist and facilitate our work. I had about 23 staff, 11 were graduates out of which five were master’s degree holders.”
On the money spent on the network of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) during Jonathan’s re-election campaign, he said: “The second N50m was approved again by Mr. President when I reported to him that the monthly allowance had been cut from N10m to N5m and that I was no longer in position to keep running a one-hour NTA network programme called INSIGHT which was aired 9-10am every Friday.”
“We paid NTA about N1.2m monthly for airtime. Two presenters were paid N600,000. We paid for tapes and editing per programme. Besides we also pay honorarium for guests either directly or in form of hotel bills for those outside Abuja, or transportation.
“This cost averagely N500,000 weekly or about N2m monthly. All in all we spend about N4m monthly on the programme. Mr. President promised to help with the expenses. About a few months later when we had incurred some debts the NSA sent me this N50m which was to cover the cost of the programme for 12 months.”
Okupe also criticised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for releasing sensitive information about his health to the media without his consent.
He stated while he decided to confide in the anti-graft agency, the commission chose to embarrass him.
“Without clearance or authorization by me this information was revealed to the media. I woke up to hear it on radio broadcast nationwide and was published in many newspapers,” he stated.
“This is a sad development and a definite breach of the confidence I reposed on the commission as an institution of government.
“I was born with sinus bradycadia, a non-disease based slowness of the heart. It precluded me from vigorous exercise from childhood but I have by God’s grace been able to live a normal and active life.
“With age the slowness grew worse and life threatening. I sought medical help and went through a procedure at the Arrhythmia Cardiac Research Centre in Atlanta, where this defect was corrected. It was just a year ago and I am still under satellite monitor from the United StatesA. This is what I revealed to the EFCC and they made it a public issue.”