$2.1 Billion: Okonjo-Iweala Fires Back,
Says Allegation Another Political Witch-
Hunt
By Abdul Gaffar Bello – The immediate past
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister
of Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has
described allegation of spending the sum of
$2.1 billion out of the Excess Crude Account
(ECA), “without authorization” as false,
malicious and baseless, as well as a new plot
to witch-hunt her.
Dr. Iweala while responding to the latest
allegation against her, in a statement issued
Tuesday by her Media Adviser, Paul
Nwabuikwu specified that no unauthorized
expenditure from the ECA was made under
her watch in the Finance Ministry, adding that
decisions on such expenditure were discussed
at meetings of the Federation Accounts
Allocation Committee (FAAC) which is also
attended by the 36 States Finance
Commissioners.
The former Minister stated it was curious,
that in an attempt to use the esteemed
National Economic Council (NEC) for political
and personal vendetta, the persons behind the
allegations acted as if the “constitutionally
recognized FAAC, a potent expression of
Nigeria’s fiscal federalism, does not exist”.
Dr. Iweala disclosed that Nigerians knew that
collective revenues, allocations and
expenditures of the three tiers of government
were the concern of the monthly FAAC
meetings.
The statement however noted that it was
important to acknowledge the efforts of some
Governors who were working hard to
overcome the current revenue challenges,
facing their states without resorting to
character assassination and blame games.
Iweala pointed out she was ready and willing
to respond to legitimate enquiries about
issues under her purview, as Finance Minister,
yet, insisted the latest chapter of a “political
witch-hunt by elements who are attempting
to use the respected National Economic
Council for ignoble purposes having failed
abysmally in their previous attempts to tar”
her name.
She recalled that one of such attempts took
place in May this year, when some of the
alleged Governors, she indicated were hiding
under the auspices of the Nigerian Governors
Forum and asking her to explain $20 billion
alleged to be missing from the same ECA.
The ex-Minister informed: “The Finance
Ministry subsequently issued a news release
and published an advertorial in national
newspapers on May 25, 2015 giving details of
what the Federal Government and states
received from the ECA in the last four years.
It also provided details of the use of the
funds for payment of petrol subsidies for the
Nigerian public and SURE-P allocations to the
three tiers for development purposes.
“After the publication, the accusers lost their
voice. But the latest allegations show that
these persons are still in the business of
throwing up wild, unsubstantiated figures to
damage Okonjo-Iweala’s name. For instance,
within the last few months, Governor
Oshiomhole and his fellow travellers have
asked Okonjo-Iweala to account for “missing”
$30 billion, $20 billion and now $2.1 billion.
What they don’t seem to understand is that
the strategy has lost all credibility because
the falsehood is clear for all to see.
How can some governors who fought FG’s
efforts to leave robust savings in the ECA and
even took the Federal Government to court
over the matter turn around to make such
unfounded allegations?, queried the former
Minister.
While noting that Nigerians were too smart to
be hoodwinked by the partisan desperation to
tar her name, Iweala who recalled she
pioneered, during her first stint as Minister of
Finance in the Obasanjo administration,
started the practice of publishing monthly
updates of all allocations to different tiers of
government in order to empower Nigerians
with information and knowledge of
government revenues and expenditure,
affirmed that the practice enabled the
Nigerian public to ask questions about the
utilization of the resources, despite the
displeasure of many elected and appointed
public officials.
She equally clarified that the practice
continued when she returned in 2011 and
even added periodic updates on the ECA;
subsidy payments for verified claims by oil
marketers for fuel imports as well as SURE-P
payments to the three tiers of government.
Dr. Iweala wondered about the allegation of
unauthorized spending as she confirmed
details of government receipts and
expenditure were in the public domain
Meanwhile, the former Minister has advised
public officials to avoid temptation to
politicize economic issues, so as to balance
analyses that could lead to real solutions.
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