Former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has again absolved herself of any blame in the $2.1 billion arms procurement deal for which many notable individuals are being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In a statement on Friday through her media aide, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, the ex-minister accused some elements of trying to tarnish her image by linking her to a situation she knows nothing about, while accusing them of distorting the contents of a January 20 memo she sent to former President Goodluck Jonathan seeking the transfer of $300 million and £5.5 million to the office of the National Security Adviser.
The statement read: “For the past week, Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and other compromised persons and media have embarked on a campaign of falsehood against Dr Okonjo-Iweala. They have distorted the contents of the January 20 memo in which she responded to a request by the former National Security Adviser and quoted selectively from the document to make their false allegations of ‘illegal diversion’ of funds.
“For your information and a fuller understanding of the issues, please see the attached January 20 memo by Dr Okonjo-Iweala as published by some online sites. It confirms that Dr Okonjo-Iweala is a transparent person of integrity and patriotic professional who worked hard to protect the interest of the country and that her accusers are purveyors of falsehood on a political mission to tarnish an innocent patriot.”