Former Minister for Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi<\/p>\n
Okonjo-Iweala came down hard on Lagos Lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, describing
\nhis attempt to drag her into the arms deal scandal as malicious.
\nIweala, in a reply signed by her Media Aide, Mr. Paul Nwabuiku, described
\nFalana as a man suffering from “Chronic Cerebral Amnesia (CCA) because he
\nsimply has no grasp of the facts.”
\nThe former Minister’s reply to Falana reads:<\/p>\n
OKONJO-IWEALA: A STRONG TRANSPARENCY ADVOCATE AND ANTI-CORRUPTION FIGHTER<\/p>\n
A RESPONSE TO FEMI FALANA, AN INTEGRITY-CHALLENGED CHARLATAN (ICC)
\nThe malicious attempt by Lagos Lawyer, Femi Falana to mix Dr Ngozi
\nOkonjo-Iweala up in issues that have nothing to do with her in his letter
\nto the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a desperate joke by an
\nintegrity challenged charlatan (ICC).
\nThis misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have
\nany idea of what the mandate of the ICC is about.
\nHe has resorted to this action because his previous efforts to tarnish her
\nname – through his discredited NGO, SERAP and petitions to the EFCC \u2013
\nfailed because they were lacking in credibility.
\nThis latest effort to try to attach her name falsely confirms that Femi
\nFalana is nothing but a tool of corrupt elements whose interests were hurt
\nby the work Dr. Okonjo-Iweala did in fighting corruption while she was in
\noffice.
\nThese elements have now made a habit of making false allegations against
\nDr Okonjo-Iweala whenever she receives any national or international
\nrecognition for her work. The pattern is clear and Nigerians should be
\nalert to it. But Dr Okonjo-Iweala will not be intimidated from going on
\nwith her life and performing her duties. She will not give in to cowardly
\nand unmanly bullying.
\nFalana\u2019s latest attempt to implicate Dr Okonjo-Iweala falsely suggests
\nthat he is suffering from an ailment that may be described as Chronic
\nCerebral Amnesia (CCA) because he simply has no grasp of the facts.
\nHere are the facts:<\/p>\n
​​
\nFACT NO 1: OKONJO-IWEALA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE $2.1 BILLION ARMS
\nCONTROVERSY<\/p>\n
Contrary to Falana\u2019s lies, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has absolutely nothing to do
\nwith the alleged misuse of $2.1billion by the office of the former
\nNational Security Adviser. Falana and his sponsors are simply trying to
\ninvent a connection where there is none.
\nThe January 20, 2015 memo in which Dr Okonjo-Iweala sought and received
\nthe approval of former President Jonathan for the release of part of the
\nnewly returned Abacha funds to the NSA for purchase of arms is totally
\nseparate from the $2.1 billion issue.
\nThe memo which is now in the public domain speaks for itself. The release
\nof the resources was in response to an approval by the former President
\nfollowing a meeting chaired by him after a committee had considered the
\nrequest.
\nThe memo clearly documented Dr Okonjo-Iweala\u2019s insistence that the proper
\nprocedure be followed, subject to appropriation and according to financial
\nregulations. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala went further to state that the former NSA
\nshould account for the funds to the former President since she is not a
\nmember of the Security Council. The attempt to link Okonjo-Iweala to the
\n$2.1billion issue is therefore dead on arrival.
\nFACT NO 2: OKONJO-IWEALA WAS NOT IN GOVERNMENT WHEN MOST OF THE ABACHA
\nFUNDS WERE RECOVERED
\nFalana and his sponsors have claimed that billions of dollars of Abacha
\nfunds were recovered and that Dr Okonjo-Iweala should account for the
\nrecovered funds.
\nThe fact is that some of the funds recovery was done under the regime of
\nGeneral Abdulsalami Abubakar and the first term of President Olusegun
\nObasanjo when Dr Okonjo-Iweala was not even in government.
\nDuring the time Dr Okonjo-Iweala was Finance Minister in the second
\nObasanjo administration, $500m was recovered. As documented by the Field
\nStudy conducted by the World Bank with the assistance of national and
\ninternational NGOs, this amount was properly applied.
\nFalana\u2019s insistence on the contrary shows how despicable he is and how he
\nis ready to ignore facts and concoct a fiction in the service of his
\nsponsors.
\nFACT 3: OKONJO-IWEALA LEFT STRONG LEGACIES AS A CHAMPION OF TRANSPARENCY
\nAND THE FIGHT AGAINST
\n​ CORRUPTION WHILE IN GOVERNMENT
\nIt is on record that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala championed transparency and
\nvigorously fought corruption during her two terms as Minister. Among other
\nactions, starting from the second Obasanjo administration, she, for the
\nfirst time in Nigeria\u2019s history, published monthly revenue allocations to
\nall tiers of government for Nigerians to see.<\/p>\n
​​While serving in the Obasanjo administration, she requested
\nthe assistance of the World Bank and DFID, the UK\u2019s development agency to
\nbuild institutions and systems that could block leakages from the
\ntreasury. This work stalled after she left office in 2006. In August 2011
\nwhen she returned under the Jonathan government, with the assistance of
\nthe Ministry of Finance Team, she re-invigorated the establishment and use
\nof the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management Systems (IPPIS), the
\nGovernment Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) and the
\nTreasury Single Account (TSA), all of which saved the country billions of
\nnaira by drastically reducing avenues for corruption in the public
\nservice. These facts are well documented in successive World Bank, DFID
\nand IMF Article 4 Reports.
\nIt is gratifying that the present government has adopted and is further
\nbuilding on these systems for the benefit of the country.
\nFACT NO 4: DR. OKONJO-IWEALA\u2019S MOTHER WAS KIDNAPPED AND ALMOST KILLED
\nBECAUSE OF THE FORMER MINISTER\u2019S STANCE AGAINST CORRUPTION<\/p>\n
Falana is callous beyond belief for ignoring a fact of recent Nigerian
\nhistory: the kidnap of Professor Kamene Okonjo, the then 83 year old
\nmother of Dr Okonjo-Iweala by agents of fuel subsidy fraudsters who were
\nangry that the former Minister had blocked them from defrauding the
\ncountry further.
\nThe kidnappers had told the traumatised old woman that they were sent to
\npunish Okonjo-Iweala for refusing to pay some oil marketers. It is on
\nrecord with the State Security Services that the kidnappers initially
\ndemanded the resignation of Dr Okonjo-Iweala in return for the release of
\nher mother. Thank God Professor Okonjo is still alive to tell her story
\ntoday and she will not be silenced.
\nIt is extremely insensitive and, in fact, inhumane for Falana and his
\nsponsors to level false accusations against someone like Dr Okonjo-Iweala
\nwho went through this kind of searing personal ordeal for her principled
\nfight against corruption.
\nCONCLUSION
\nFalana\u2019s attempt to implicate Dr Okonjo-Iweala falsely is a disservice to
\nlaw, justice and the image of the country. It is sad that a person who had
\nearned some prominence as a human rights lawyer now tramples on the human
\nrights of others as a political jobber.
\nHe and his sponsors are engaged in nothing but media harassment, cyber
\nbullying and intimidation against innocent persons like Dr Okonjo-Iweala
\nfor political and pecuniary gain. That is why Nigerians should not give in
\nto Falana\u2019s self-imposed Chronic Cerebral Amnesia (CCA).<\/p>\n
Paul C Nwabuikwu<\/p>\n
Media Adviser to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Minister for Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala came down hard on Lagos Lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, describing his attempt to drag her into the arms…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n