That question is yet to be answered as former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar insists that a close aide of former President Olusegun Obasanjo could have pulled a fast one on Wilbros Group, fronting as Nigeria’s number two citizen.

At the weekend in Abuja, Atiku said in a statement that though the plea bargain entered with the United States Department of Justice by a former Wilbros official, Mr. Jason Edward Steph, did not mention his name, there was an urgent need to identify the Nigerians involved in the corrupt payments.

In the plea bargain, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, Steph had pleaded guilty to making "a series of corrupt payments totaling in excess of $6 million to, among others, officials of NNPC, NAPIMS, a senior official in the executive" branch of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and to the political party, as well as to the officials of SPDC, to assist in obtaining the EGGS project and its optional scopes of work."

Suspecting that he could be named the said "senior official in the executive", the former vice president said he had instructed his lawyers to take action against anybody linking his person to the bribery allegation.

A source told The Nation that Atiku was convinced that a close and powerful aide to former President Obasanjo was neck-deep in the scam as he acted as the alternate minister during the time.

He said: "How can anybody link Atiku to this? We know who is involved because the former Vice-President had already lost favour in the Presidency when the event happened and he couldn’t have sat on the negotiating table with the agencies and characters mentioned by Steph.

"In any case, why should Atiku raise money for the Peoples Democratic Party? Is it not public knowledge that he was pushed out of the party immediately Obasanjo started his vindictiveness? We are insisting on getting to the details of this matter," the source said.

To justify its position, the Atiku Campaign Office released a statement yesterday in Abuja, noting that the intention was to link the Action Congress (AC) presidential candidate to the deal by all means.

The statement read: "You are likely to receive a malicious report linking H.E the former Vice President,Atiku Abubakar to the unfolding scandal, linking senior Nigerian government and NNPC officials to bribery by the oil service company, Willbros.

"In all of the documents before the court, no mention or reference was made either in the name or office of the Vice-President. But by way of suspected blackmail, a certain defence attorney was heard to peddle Atiku’s name. As you can see from the attached documents,no where was such a name mentioned.

"Our lawyers have warned that any such story linking Atiku to these matters will be malicious and, therefore actionable in court.

"We reviewed and attached all documents that have been made public by the U.S. government in the Wilbros case. Attached are the July 19, 2007 Indictment of the Willbros official, his Plea Agreement of November 5th and a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on November 5th. The factual allegations made in the documents are summarized below.

"Jason Edward Steph, a former employee of Wilbros International Inc., a subsidiary of Wilbros Group International was indicted for conspiring to violate the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on July 19, 2007. On November 5, 2007, Steph entered into a plea agreement with the United States in which he pleaded guilty.

"Wilbros International, Inc. provides various services in the oil and gas industry such as construction and engineering. The company participated in the first phase of the Eastern Gas Gathering System Project. Steph held the position of General Manager-Onshore in Nigeria. Steph’s actions centered around his desire to obtain a contract for WGI and its various subsidiaries to participate in the second phase of EGGS.

"The U.S. Department of Justice alleged, and Steph admitted, that he had entered into a series of transactions with a number of businesses and individuals in order to secure a contract for the second phase of EGGS. Steph and others determined that if a series of payments were made to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, its subsidiary National Petroleum Management Services, a senior official in the executive branch of the federal government of Nigeria, a political party and Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, they could win the contract.

"Payments to Nigerian officials were made through a series of sham transactions that took place from late 2004 through March 2005. Steph, with the help of other employees of WGI and its subsidiaries and two individuals unaffiliated with WGI, obtained the money by defrauding WGI.

"Nowhere in the indictment of Steph or his plea agreement is the Nigerian official named, nor is his position with the government disclosed. He is only referred to as a senior official in the executive branch. The indictment also refers to government officials who acted on behalf of NNPC, NAPIMS and the political party. But again, none of these are identified by name or specific position."