Okonjo-Iweala threatens to sue Governor Oshiomhole over $2.1bn arms purchase scandal

Former Coordinating of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, has threatened to sue the Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, for link­ing her with the scam.

She said the governor is against her because she stopped him from taking a suspicious N15 billion loan while she held sway as Finance Minister. The Minister, via her Media Adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu, denied that she has something to do with the issue, saying that it is an abuse of public office, the judicial process and her fundamental human rights for Oshiomhole whom she stopped from tak­ing a highly suspicious N15 billion loan to make false allegations against her while hiding behind the constitutional immunity granted state governors.

According to her, as re­cently confirmed by the Debt Management Office (DMO), professional analysis showed that Oshiomhole’s loan re­quest, which was based on using low interest World Bank loan to offset high interest commercial loans would have left Edo State with a heavy debt burden and the state would have found it very dif­ficult to pay back.

Nwabuikwu said that it is unconscionable for the Gover­nor to embark on a campaign of lies against the former Min­ister because she thwarted his dubious loan request.

He described the Governor’s unsubstantiated allegations as a cynical personalisation of the anti-corruption campaign to achieve ignoble objectives.

“The former minister there­fore put Oshiomhole and his likes on notice that she has briefed her lawyers and that she is ready to explore all legal means, local and international, to defend her name against corrupt and compromised per­sons. It has become a pattern of behaviour that each time Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is inter­nationally recognised, Gover­nor Oshiomole and his cohorts embark on a cynical and devi­ous ploy of trying to pull her down locally.

“Just last night, December 1, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was hon­oured at a high profile event attended by Vice President Joe Biden and former Presi­dent Bill Clinton. Dr. Okonjo- Iweala was honoured along­side Michael Bloomberg, Bill and Melinda Gates and Mo Ibrahim for their contributions to global development and humanity. Oshiomole and his cohorts should realise that their ill-motivated attempts to taint Dr Okonjo Iweala’s reputation will never succeed,” he said.