The Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District of Anambra State and former Special Assistant to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on Domestic Matters, Dr. Andy Uba, has denied any involvement in the $15 million Ibori bribe saga.
In a statement issued by his aide, Mr. Chike Okeke, in Abuja, the senator said, "When I was in the presidency, my house in the Villa was a convenient place for many top people in Nigeria to come.
"Probably, Chief Ibori didn't want to go to the EFCC office to hand over the money and so decided to use my house.
"All I know about this matter is that Chief James Ibori brought some money to the then EFCC chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
"The details of the transaction were undisclosed to me at the time. The money was handed to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu who invited his then Director of Operations, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, to fetch it.
"I was never a party to the transaction between Ibori and Ribadu.
"That my house was used as the venue for the transaction is not in question as an affidavit to that effect has been sworn to by the current EFCC chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, which is probably the point of confusion.
"I hereby state unequivocally that I have no involvement in this matter beyond that stated above.
"So, I'm not involved and will not be involved in this matter. Nobody should drag me into it please."
Meanwhile, a businessman, Chibuike Achigbu has filed a suit last week before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja saying that the $15 million allegedly received from a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori by former EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu as bribe belonged to him.
Achigbu said that he gave the money to Dr. Andy Uba for the purpose of financing the Peoples Democratic Party during the 2007 general elections.
The Federal Government had on July 24, filed an ex-parte motion before the same court wherein it sought to take possession of the money presently in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Delta State also had on August 13, argued that the jettisoned bribe money legitimately belongs to it, even as it urged the high court to issue an order, remitting the fund to the Delta State treasury.
The plaintiff who claimed to be an oil magnate said that he first sought legal advice on whether he could raise money to donate to support the PDP and its candidates throughout the federation for the purpose of winning the 2007 general elections.
He also said that he set a target of N3billion which he intended to raise through himself and his associates.
However, by April 2007 when the election had drawn near, he had raised money in excess of N2 billion after which he realised that such donations could only be accepted through a financial institution.
He said that Andy Uba advised him to deliver the fund to him (Uba) for onward transmission to EFCC being the agency of the Federal Government sufficiently equipped to give legitimacy to the fund before it could be donated to PDP.
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