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Transcript of Phone Conversation between Farouk Lawan & Femi Otedola over the alleged $620,000 Bribe | Lawan’s Reaction to the Alleged Conversation
Fresh facts have continued to emerge in the $620,000 bribery scandal between the embattled Chairman of the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee on Fuel Subsidy, Farouk Lawan and the MD/CEO Zenon Oil and Gas, Femi Otedola.
The Chairman, House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee on Fuel Subsidy, Mr. Lawan, is alleged to have collected $620,000 as part payment for a bribe which he demanded from billionaire and oil magnate in a bid to exonerate his companies from the fuel subsidy probe.
While there has been some controversy over the bribery, Channels Television has exclusively obtained the audio conversation between the Mr. Lawan and Mr. Otedola.
Below is the transcript of the conversation:
Otedola: How are you sir? I don’t want to bring it to my house
Lawan: Oh, you would take it to your house
Otedola: No I don’t want to bring it to my house; it is a lot of money
Lawan: err… so where? Because I’m rushing to the… they are at the airport now?
Otedola: Yes they are in the airport in the aircraft
Lawan: Well I can’t come over now and before they can come over now unless I send somebody to but I can’t because…by the time they come I should be…I have a lot of things to do myself
Otedola: Is there anybody you think I can give it to or maybe I should just postpone my trip to China till tomorrow?
Lawan: No, no it’s ok…I’ll arrange it with someone…let me give you his number 080
Otedola: hold on hold on
Lawan: 08036513355
Otedola: (Repeats number after him)What’s the name?
Lawan: TJ
Otedola: Sorry?
Lawan: aaarrh… TJ
Otedola: Ateezay?
Lawan: TJ!
Otedola: Teezay?
Lawan: No, Tj
Otedola: OK. So I will give him the balance; that is erm… 2.5 million dollars, yea?
Lawan: that’s right. Hold on. I’m calling him to be sure his phone is on…..
It was alleged that following this conversation, Mr. Lawan while presenting the 210-paged Fuel Subsidy report to a plenary session of the House of Representatives, on the 21st of April, moved a motion of recommendation that two companies should be removed from the list of companies indicted by the committee for receiving forex from the Central Bank of Nigeria but failed to bring in the fuel. The two companies were owned by Mr. Otedola.
In the latest development, the House of Representatives have threatened to arrest Mr. Otedola if he fails to appear before the House today. Also, Mr. Lawan has hired four Senior Advocates of Nigeria to defend him in the alleged scandal.
Here’s the audio version of the phone conversation
Meanwhile, Mr. Lawan has reacted to the audio conversation saying Mr Otedola manipulated the audio and challenged the business mogul to produce the complete audio video unedited and undoctored.
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