Okonjo-Iwaela Reacts to Spending $2.1 Billion without Authorisation

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwaela, the former coordinating minister for the economy and minister of finance under ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, has reacted to reports that she spent $2.1 billion from the Excess Crude Account without authorisation. 

VANGUARD reports that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwaela, on Tuesday, June 30, through her Media Adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu, in Abuja, described as “false and malicious,” the allegation by Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, that she spent $2.1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) without authorisation. She said there was no unauthorised spending from the ECA under her watch in the Finance Ministry. 

Okonjo-Iweala said the issues of withdrawals from the ECA were discussed at monthly meetings of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), attended by Finance Commissioners from the 36 states. She said Oshiomhole and others like him had made futile efforts at rubbishing her in the past, and assured that, this would also fail like the other attempts before it. She said: “it is clear that this is 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 the Okonjo-Iweala name.” 

She wondered how some governors, who fought the Federal Government’s efforts to leave robust savings in the ECA and even took the federal government to court over the matter would now turn around to make such unfounded allegations. According to her, she started the practice of publishing monthly updates of all allocations to different tiers of government in order to inform Nigerians on government revenues and expenditure. She insisted that the idea that she spent the said money without approval is simply not credible given that, details of government receipts and expenditure are public knowledge.