No One Gave Me $500m After Abacha’s Death – Abdulsalami

Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has dismissed allegations that he received $500 million following the death of General Sani Abacha in 1998, describing the claim as “pure fantasy” and insisting that no one gave him any amount of money, large or small.

Abdulsalami also revealed that his administration had been preparing for the release of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, before his sudden death in July 1998.

In excerpts from his autobiography, Call of Duty, the former military leader said rumours that he received $500 million allegedly contributed towards Abacha’s self-succession bid surfaced after he left office and were intended to drag him into a media backlash.

“One of the storytellers alleged that $500 million was handed to me in cash after General Abacha’s death. The money, they said, had been donated towards Abacha’s reported self-succession before he died in June 1998. This was pure fantasy, an absolute fabrication,” he wrote.

He added: “Nobody gave me $500 million or any amount, large or small. Is it possible to collect half a billion dollars in cash and only one person in the world would know about it? Where would I even keep such an amount of money?”

The former Head of State also rejected claims that he depleted Nigeria’s foreign reserves during his 11 months in office, explaining that his administration inherited about $7 billion in reserves and outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $3 billion.

According to him, revenues fell by more than 60 per cent between January and May 1999 due to unrest in the Niger Delta, which led to the shutdown of more than 30 oil wells.

He said the government had to meet obligations arising from the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, conduct local, state and national elections, settle cash-call arrears owed to international oil companies, and execute several projects, including the construction of Eagle Square in Abuja.

“Not one dollar was stolen from the reserves under my government. We settled outstanding foreign exchange obligations inherited from the previous administration and initiated or completed several projects. That is the truth,” he stated.

On Abiola’s death, Abdulsalami said his administration had been working towards his release after first freeing pro-democracy activists, detained politicians and those imprisoned over allegations of plotting a coup against the late General Sani Abacha.

He said consultations were ongoing with political leaders and interest groups on the best way to manage Abiola’s return, as different stakeholders had put forward conflicting proposals.

Some wanted Abiola to be sworn in immediately as President on the strength of the June 12 election, while others advocated a Government of National Unity or a fresh transition programme.

Abdulsalami said his administration viewed Abiola’s release as the climax of its reconciliation efforts and had planned a one-on-one meeting with him after concluding consultations with key stakeholders.

“My plan was to meet with Abiola as the final leg of my consultations with the key players in the political crisis. I wanted to have a fair idea of what the different players had in mind before having a one-on-one meeting with him to discuss his options,” he wrote.

According to him, some stakeholders suggested that Abiola should participate in a new transition programme, while others proposed that he be given an eminent role in the Fourth Republic in recognition of his contributions to the enthronement of democracy.

“Unfortunately, our meeting never took place. He died while we were still preparing the ground for his release. It is not true that he died on the day we intended to release him. That was mere speculation. We were in the process, but no final date had been fixed,” Abdulsalami said.

He maintained that he never believed Abiola was poisoned, noting that an autopsy involving American, British, Nigerian and Canadian pathologists attributed the death to natural causes.