Nobody Is Good In The Eyes Of Obasanjo - Osoba

Why addressing a group of journalists on Saturday in Lagos, a former Governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba reacted to former president Obasanjo’s claim on Chief Obafemi Awolowo saying he was never the leader of the Yrouba but was only elected leader by his supporters. According to Osoba, the statement did not come as a surprise because nobody is good in the eyes of Obasanjo. Hear him;

“I would not like to judge Chief Obasanjo because as I am trying to put the facts straight, I don’t want to join him in condemnation of individuals. I respect him for his own strong points and weaknesses. But one thing I disagree with him is his condemnation of virtually everybody and even those around 

him.

The Okonjo-Iweala who worked for me is different from the Okonjo -Iweala who worked for Jonathan – Obasanjo

   

In a fresh interview with Premium Times, former President Obasanjo said the Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who worked in his administration as Minister of Finance and later resigned is different from the one who worked in the Jonathan-led administration. Really, Baba? Lol. Excerpt from the interview below

"Take Ngozi (Okonjo-Iweala), who worked for me. And who worked competently for me. Because I know Ngozi’s weaknesses, but I know her strong points. Her strong point is technical competence. But Ngozi needs to be led and to be supervised. Now will you comment on Ngozi who worked for me as the same Ngozi who worked for Jonathan? Will you? But it’s the same person"

PT: At what point do you think she derailed if I may use that word?

Obasanjo: No.

PT: Is it at the point that you changed her – because you removed her as finance minister. Was it at that point that she began to derail?

Obasanjo: She derailed because….when Jonathan even said he wanted her, I said ‘I hope you can manage her.’ And Ngozi herself sent me a text (and) I told her times have changed.

PT: But why did you change her? She was managing the economy very well for you. Why did you now remove her suddenly?

Obasanjo: I wrote it in that my book.

Okonjo-Iweala denies sending list of corrupt deals done by GEJ administration to Buhari

There were reports last week that former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sent a list of corrupt deals done during the past administration to President Buhari. Dr Okonjo-Iweala, released a statement through her media aide, Paul Nwabuikwu, discrediting the report.

The statement below

The recent report by the integrity-challenged website, Saharareporters and some other media that former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has handed over a “dossier of corrupt deals” perpetrated by the Jonathan administration to President Buhari is completely false and without foundation. This sponsored lie is part of the political attack by the pay masters of Saharareporters against Dr Okonjo-Iweala. 

These attacks will continue given that these individuals are bent on a political and personal vendetta against her. Why are they angry? It is simply because she tried to bring integrity and transparency to the management of Nigeria’s public finances which obviously did not suit their interests. Saharareporters which has a long history of publishing falsehoods and distortions against Okonjo-Iweala is a paid tool of these individuals. But the lies of Saharareporters and its cohorts will never stop Okonjo-Iweala from loving her country or make her regret serving it, not once but twice. As always, we are confident that the truth shall prevail. Paul C Nwabuikwu Media Adviser to Dr Okonjo-Iweala

Nigeria’s debts now $63.5 billion – DMO

Nigeria’s total debts stood at 12.06 trillion naira ($63.5 billion) at the end of March this year, up from 11.2 trillion naira in December 2014, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Wednesday. 

Nigeria, Africa’s top economy and largest oil producer, has been hammered by the 50 percent fall in global oil prices as crude sales account for more than 70 percent of government revenue. 

Squeezed government revenues forced this year’s budget to be revised and federal projects scrapped or halted while state employees have gone months without being paid. 

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. 

Oshiomole replies Okonjo-Iweala, says 'I don't want to say she knows how to lie with statistics'

Edo state Governor Adams Oshiomhole has replied former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who yesterday denied allegations he made that she she spent N2.1 billion from the Excess Crude Account without authorization from members of the National Economic Council.

Speaking on Channels TV this morning, Governor Oshiomole said;

"I think with all due respect to former Minister Okonjo Iweala, she knows how to play around, I don't want to say lie with statistics. I have made this point that she keeps opening only parts of the pages and not the entire book. The logic of transparency is that the honorable minister must publish in full what is accruing to the federation account month to month and what is distributed to who?

FG-Okonjo-Iweala Spent $2.1bn Without Approval

The National Economic Council, chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday accused former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of spending $2.1bn from the Excess Crude Account without authorisation.

“We looked at the numbers for the Excess Crude Account. The last time the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reported to the council, and it is in the minutes, she reported by November 2014 that we had $4.1 bn.

Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole told State House correspondents after the NEC’s 58th meeting in Abuja.

“Today, the Accountant-General Office reported we have $2.0bn. Which means the honourable minister spent $2.1bn without authority of the NEC and that money was not distributed to states, it was not paid to the three tiers of government,”

Dr Mrs Ngozi Okonjo Iweala Celebrate 61 Birthday Today

Dr Mrs Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Born on 13th June 1954 (Age 61) from Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State Nigeria.

Happy Birthday to you Ma. 

Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala replies Oshiomhole - Says Oshiomhole Criticism Is Baseless

Read the Full Press statement from Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala below.

It is no surprise that a few days after the Federal Ministry of Finance published the details of what the Federal and State governments received from the Excess Crude Account over the past four years, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has launched an attack against the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. His article “Economy: Okonjo-Iweala’s hidden figures” is full of gaping holes, both in facts and logic.

Obviously, for daring to publish how the ECA was shared and showing that governors who cannot pay salaries have no excuses, Okonjo-Iweala is being targeted. It is noteworthy that several of their colleagues have been able to manage their finances reasonably well under these same difficult circumstances.

The release of the ECA details has also demonstrated very clearly that there is no substance in the wild allegations that any money is missing from the account or that finances of the country under Okonjo-Iweala watch have not been well managed.

Like previous baseless allegations by some Governors, the motive behind Oshiomhole’s attack is clear: to deflect public attention away from the manner in which they have run the finances of their states and make Okonjo-Iweala the scapegoat. If it was meant to intimidate the Minister, it has failed abysmally.

How can Governor Oshiomhole claim that state governors were not properly briefed on the status of the ECA when his commissioner of finance attends all the FAAC meetings where decisions are taken and communicated to the nation?

This diversionary tactic will not succeed because Nigerians are too smart to buy into this fiction. Secondly, the Finance Ministry under Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister who started the practice of publishing details of allocations from the Federation Account to all the three tiers of government, has regularly furnished Nigerians with information on the country’s finances.

Governor Oshiomhole’s statement that Okonjo-Iweala “must disclose to the nation the full details of subsidy payments made to oil marketers in the last four years” is therefore astonishing given the fact that EVERY payment made to the marketers has been published in the media and widely disseminated through all news channels.

Oshiomhole’s allegation that Okonjo-Iweala has not been transparent is ridiculous and totally lacking in merit. Apart from the monthly publication of allocations to the federal, state and local governments, the Federal Ministry of Finance under Okonjo-Iweala also publishes SURE-P receipts and distribution to different tiers, details of payments to oil marketers and other information.

Has Governor Oshiomhole demonstrated the same level of openness in his management of the affairs of Edo State? Can Oshiomhole also go public with ALL the information showing what he has received from various sources and the uses to which he has deployed them?

Equally incomprehensible – for a supposedly smart Governor - is Oshiomhole’s claim that the CME has “just woken up from her slumber to realize that oil marketers have been all along falsifying subsidy claims and defrauding the nation of billions of Naira”. This statement underscores the extent to which he is willing to go in his desperation to tar Okonjo-Iweala. When she returned as Finance Minister in 2011, the outstanding fuel subsidy bill was about N1.3 trillion. It was the work done on subsidy fraud by the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee which the Minister set up, later elevated into a presidential panel that determined that over N300 billion of the amount was fraudulent. This eventually led to the prosecution of some persons for subsidy fraud and reduction of the annual subsidy budget to N791 billion, saving the country over a trillion naira in the process. Maybe it is His Excellency who was snoring while this was going on. Such baseless posturing only serves to diminish the credibility of Oshiomhole in the minds of objective Nigerians.

For the record, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has no apologies for insisting that a claim of N159 billion for forex differentials by the marketers out of a total bill of N200 billion should go through an additional verification process. When 80% of a subsidy claim is made up of forex differentials and not the value of the amount of fuel supplied, the right and proper thing to do is to take extra steps to ensure that the country is not being cheated. That is what Okonjo-Iweala did.

Oshiomhole’s allegation that the Minister is involved in “an unholy alliance” with government agencies and the marketers is therefore manifestly untrue and totally irresponsible. How can a minister against whom the oil marketers have conducted a very public campaign of calumny be in league with them? A decent public official should not make such scurrilous and unsubstantiated statements. 

The most laughable part of Oshiomhole’s article is the claim that Okonjo-Iweala has been speaking out lately because of the “fear of Buhari”. Nigerians know this is ridiculous. If there is any minister whose voice has been strong on the right issues over the past four years it is Okonjo-Iweala. Okonjo-Iweala combines a stalwart integrity, a mastery of her mandate and the courage of her convictions. She therefore has no reason to fear. Those who cannot adequately explain what they did with the resources of their states and are begging for bailout are those who should to be scared.

Paul C Nwabuikwu

Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance