The anti-corruption net has spread out to a former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala after she was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to explain how about $250million of the $500million recovered from the family of the late Head of State, Gen.Sani Abacha, was withdrawn.
According to findings by the EFCC, the cash was released to the Office of National Security Adviser( ONSA) without appropriation.
Fact-sheet obtained by The Nation shows the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, has approved Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s invitation.
A top source said: “Magu has approved the invitation of the ex-minister. We have dispatched a letter of invitation to her. We are hopeful that she will respond.
“Her presence is necessary because there were issues about the $250million released especially why $36,155,000(N13,015,800billion) was withdrawn in cash.
“She needs to assist the EFCC team on what became of the balance of $250million which was yet to be traced.
“She has to explain why some of the funds were diverted to extraneous matters including media services, opinion polls and personal matters.”
Furthermore, the fact-sheet shows that the Office of the National Security Adviser in a memo on January 12, 2015, requested the former Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to transfer $300million.
The memo said: “Please refer to our meeting on recovered funds. You are please requested to remit the sum of $300m and £5.5m to the following account being ONSA share as agreed.
Okonjo-Iweala via a memo to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, reportedly requested for the release of $300m from Abacha loot to the former National Security Adviser (NSA), of which only $250million was released.
On January 29, 2015, the ex-President responded to the ex-Minister as follows: “CME/HMF, approved.”
Meanwhile, Okonjo-Iweala had in 2015 insisted that she had no case to answer, saying former President Jonathan set up a Committee comprising of the former Minister of Justice, former NSA and the former Minister of Finance to determine how best to use both the returned and expected funds for development.
Source – The Nation
This same woman you are trying to castigate here has come up with innovative ideas, has to how African countries can effectively recover their stolen assets and prevent corruption and graft occurrence going forward, so we stop finding ourselves in this quagmire. I strongly recommend this writer to look read up on Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala recommendations on this subject matter and quickly get acquainted with such wisdom. Those ideas would have done this article a world of good.
All of these allegations are usually an excuse to spoil people’s reputations. This is really uncalled for!
I don’t see the need to summon Okonjo Iweala, that woman is busy making impacts in people’s life, she should not be distracted.
It’s obvious that the EFCC don’t have anything tangible to do because if they have, they won’t be wasting people’s time instead of getting their work done. We know that at the end of the day nothing would be found against her, so why are you disturbing yourself?
All this now seems like a lie to me. There is always an alleged sum of money squandered one place or the other, all these seems like a pretense to me to create unnecessary drama. I don’t even believe in any of these things again.
Am not sure the EFCC knows what they are talking about, if you need to interrogate anyone then that should be Dansuki and not okonjo Iweala, stop beating around the bush.
We are definitely our own enemy in this country. Okonjo Iweala is one of the few African leaders making good names for Africa all over the world and all we are concerned in this country is putting her down. However, I know Okonjo Iweala would continue to succeed and make good names for herself, irrespective of what is written about her because the western world knows better.
We are just too much in this country. Paying good with evil isn’t going to take you anywhere. This woman you are talking about set up one of the best policies Nigerian government has never made and you are here trying to tarnish her name. Haba! You better wake up and face reality. This is not the problem facing the nation now.