Pastor: How I was tempted with $75,000 every month in oil sector

The Founder of the Remnant Christian Network (RCN) headquartered in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, Pastor Osayi Arome, has disclosed how he was exposed to a monthly temptation of about $75,000 while working as a regulator in one of the regulatory agencies in the oil sector.

Arome said he was offered the bribe when he was posted to Lagos by the agency.

He made the disclosure in one of his recent sermons.

Arome said he earned the name ‘Chuka’ because he was offered N70 million every month but rejected it.

He said because of the strategic position he occupied, the cars he and his colleagues were offered were termed ’ End of Discussion’.

The cleric, however, said workers in the agency were well paid because of the kind of temptation they were exposed to.

“I became a supervisor at some point in Lagos. My capacity as supervisor gave me oversight duty over three depots in Lagos.

“Each of these depots brings in an average of five vessels in one month making it 15 vessels per month for the three of the depots,” Arome was quoted by Church Times as saying.

He said the handlers will pay a graft of 100,000 to buy the conscience of the regulator when informed that a vessel has berthed.

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“If that 100,000 finds relevance in your hands, it means you want to do something,” Arome added.

The pastor, however, stated that he did not fall into the temptation of collecting the 100,000 which he failed to diclose whether it was 100,000 naira or dollar.

Arome said: “I would tell them, I don’t need your 100,000. The money the government is paying me is enough for me and my family. So the first set of people came, and I gave them that response. The second set came, and I gave them that response.

“They now went back to inform the rest that one man does not collect bribes.”

The cleric said by the time a regulator collects the 100,000 he would be taken to the kitchen where he will be served with all sorts of delicacies

Arome stated: “You have fried rice, coconut rice, chicken fish, tuna fish roasted with ketchup and onion. It’s always brown and red. You have vegetables and all kinds of stuff.

“You will not see any soft drink sold in Nigeria there. Not one.

“It is that kitchen they bring in the papers for the regulator to sign. So rather than verify the quantity of what is being signed for, they will ask the regulator to sign without verifying because he has been given 100,000.

“And when you check the person asking you to do this, the person is an elder, a deacon. But he lacks depth because he did not surrender to the process through which God made men.

“After the regulator has taken the 100,000, they will show him the real figures, but ask him to sign for different figure.”

Arome said the incentive if agreed to another level of the deal was $5,000 for each of the vessels that berthed.

The pastor added: “Guess how many vessels I am to sign, 15. That means I would be collecting 75,000 USD. At the current rate that is about N70 million naira that will be available to me every month. You don’t even need to touch your salary.

“It does not matter the car any governor drives, you can drive a better car. People will call you mad if you avoid such corruption. If you are still considered to be normal, you have compromised. It means somewhere along the line, you find a skillful way of avoiding the tribulation Jesus talked about.”

The Star