Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Monday night accused a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, of a malicious attempt to discredit her by linking her to the $2.1bn arms deal.
Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement by her Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, that Falana’s latest “misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have any idea what the mandate of the International Criminal Court is about”.
The former finance minister claimed that Falana had resorted to this latest action because his previous efforts to tarnish her name through his petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission failed because they lacked credibility.
The statement read in part, “This latest effort to try to attach her name falsely confirms that Femi Falana is nothing but a tool of corrupt elements whose interests were hurt by the work Dr. Okonjo-Iweala did in fighting corruption while she was in office.
“These elements have now made a habit of making false allegations against Dr. Okonjo-Iweala whenever she receives any national or international recognition for her work.
“The pattern is clear and Nigerians should be alert to it. But Dr. Okonjo-Iweala will not be intimidated from going on with her life and performing her duties. She will not give in to cowardly and unmanly bullying.”
It said contrary to Falana’s claims, the former minister had absolutely nothing to do with the alleged misuse of $2.1bn by the office of the former National Security Adviser.
“Falana and his sponsors are simply trying to invent a connection where there is none,” it added.
On the allegations that the loot recovered from late General Sani Abacha was misused, the minister in the statement said she was not in government when the amount was recovered.
“The fact is that some of the funds recovery was done under the regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo when Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was not even in government,” it said.
