Last week, the internet was abuzz with reports from an Austrian newspaper “Heute Newspaper” alleging that the Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources – Mrs Diezani Alison – Madueke, had purchased a 20 million Euro mansion in a highbrow area in Austria.
Not only did it allege that, it derogatorily referred to Nigeria as “hungerland”.
The translated headline reads “Female Minister from hunger land buys herself 20 million Euro villa in Vienna”. It goes on to say that Mrs Alison Madueke bought a villa in Vienna for just under 20 million Euro – even though a major part of the population in her home country is living below the poverty line and children are dying daily of starvation”.
“The exact location of her luxury lodging is secret, but Allison-Madueke is enthusiastic about the big garden and the estate referring to it in the internet as “architectural masterpiece,” adding that one of her neighbours is said to be former OPEC boss, Rilwanu Lukman, who is also from Nigeria”.
Shortly after the report, the Minister petitioned the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency asking for an investigation into the damaging reports.
Following the petition, Goodluck Jonathan has ordered the National Intelligence Agency NIA to conduct a full investigation into the alleged reports.
The vanguard is reporting it as follows:
President Goodluck Jonathan may have ordered the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, to conduct full investigations into an Austrian newspaper report alleging the purchase of a 20 million Euro mansion by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Alison-Madueke was one of the recipients of the national honours in Abuja yesterday and has also petitioned the agency to clear the dust generated by the newspaper report, which she described as a “negative character onslaught.”
Likewise, the Nigerian Ambassador to Austria has also been ordered to examine the report, with a view to ascertaining its veracity or otherwise.
Presidency sources disclosed to Vanguard, Sunday, that the President was becoming “irritated by the spate of phantom foreign media induced attack on the oil and gas industry.”
It was also learnt that the Federal Government may “institute legal actions in Austria, against the publishers of Heute Newspaper once it is established that the report was fabricated to ridicule a minister of the Federal Republic. The Presidency is approaching the matter with an open mind.
Madueke, in her petition entitled: “Phantom Allegation by Heute Newspaper,” and copied the President, implored the Director General of the Intelligence Agency to treat the matter with the urgency that it deserved.
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