In what seems like a plot from a classic godfather movie, several reports have emerged that Nigerian lawmakers have discovered something against the finance minister Kemi Adeosun which the leaders of the National Assembly have been using to blackmail her in order to finance their pet projects.
The finance minister allegedly released 120 billion Naira to the lawmakers for “pet projects” and another 11 billion Naira to fund projects not approved by the Presidency.
It is alleged that the finance minster is generous because of the arm twisting and blackmailing tactics of the lawmakers because these are things she wouldn’t do normally.
According to a senator. . ”we have never had a finance minister so generous to the National Assembly, but it is not for nothing. The truth is we were able to dig up something unsavoury about her and our leaders are holding her by the jugular”
Two other senators alleged… .”What am I am aware of is some of our people said they have ammunition they can use to silence her. That has given way for the leadership of the National Assembly to intimidate her, knowing that they could get her out of her job if she doesn’t cooperate”.
“Not everything is out in the public because every single one of us are beneficiaries of this situation. But I can tell you that the woman is being harassed and blackmailed into doing many things she would not do ordinarily. She is helpless in the hands of our people”
These claims where refuted by Bukola Saraki the senate president who insists the finance minister was not being blackmailed even though she has been generous to the National Assembly.
Kemi Adeosun was a former commissioner of finance for Ogun State before being appointed as coordinating minister of finance by President Buhari upon assumption of office in 2015.
Under her watch Nigeria has slipped into a recession it is still struggling to recover from even as world bank reports suggests Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the largest concentration of poor people in the world; a statistic the Presidency has strongly rejected.