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How Nigerian Government repaired £2.8m ship with £18m – Mbu

Published

7 years ago

April 6, 2018

A former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mathew Mbu, has told a story of how the Nigerian Government repaired a ship worth only £2.8 million with a whopping £18 million.
This was made public through an autobiography he left behind to be published by his family.

The book was entitled, ‘Mbu: Dignity in Service’.

He said that he bought the ship on behalf of the country for £2.8 million and expressed surprise that the Ministry of Defence officials allegedly sent the vessel for refitting at a whopping sum of £18m, shortly after he left the ministry.

Mbu, who died on February 6, 2012, had left the manuscript of his autobiography which the family published in his honour.

The former Minister’s son, Mathew Mbu Jr., told journalists on Thursday that the book would be launched posthumously on April 10, 2018 at the Shehu Yar ’Adua Centre, Abuja.

The author explained in the book how he fought corruption by serving with dignity, noting that the then Minister of Defence, Alhaji Muhammad Ribadu, approved £6 .5 million for the flagship, which he (Mbu) purchased for the Nigerian Navy for £2.8 million, thus saving the nation £3. 7 m.

Mbu Jr. said, “MT Mbu did not only come back with a flagship befitting the NN for £2 .8 m and saved £3.7 m, but had a deal to pay back the £2 .8 m in 10 years interest-free.

“The story of Mbu tells us how to stop kickback and start kicking forward. Unfortunately, and it was a sad moment for Mbu when he left the ministry and one of those ships was sent for refitting at the cost of £18 m.

The deceased, in the autobiography, advised the government to focus on free and fair election, security and anti-corruption fight, noting that if these were achieved, “Nigerians in their ingenuity will fashion out the rest in no time.”

Mbu also frowned at the investment in Tinapa Resort by the Donald Duke administration in Cross River State, describing it as a non-viable project.

“Politically, it was myopic at conception; why should the resources of a state be frozen for decades? What about the cost of maintaining a non-viable project?” The former ambassador queried.