Between the President and Okonjo-Iweala

By Joel Isidore It is interesting to observe the holier-than-thou attitude of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, whenever issues of integrity are raised against President Goodluck Jonathan administration,which has entrusted her with so much powers and responsibilities. I learnt that some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) bigwigs are worried at the non-committal attitude of the minister. I heard some of them are indeed blaming the President for keeping faith in a woman who would not standup for the administration on critical matters. I am one of those who are surprised that despite the hue and cry about corruption in Nigeria, nobody has been able to besmirch the financial integrity of President Jonathan. In fact, some have said, rightly or wrongly, that he is the cleanest President Nigeria has ever had. Unfortunately, the cold stance of the minister on issues raised in the polity against the Jonathan administration casts doubts on the integrity of the President. According to some members of the party, Okonjo-Iweala is not the kind of person the President needs as his coordinating minister. About a fortnight ago, the minister issued a statement which the correspondent of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) rightly interpreted to mean a declaration of semi-independence from the administration. The correspondent, in his accompanying note to his editor on the minister’s statement published on the BBC online website, said, “I therefore want to see on the face of it, this looks like a declaration of at least semi independence by the finance minister from Nigeria’s President, who has been accused of punishing the central bank governor for raising concerns about the allegedly missing oil billions.” This BBC statement, according to PDP bigwigs, shows how the minister smartly washes her hands clean and lets the President down, despite the trust bestowed on her by the President as his “Coordinating Minister of the Economy”. It is indeed difficult to understand how a minister in charge of finance could just dance away from controversies surrounding earnings and expenditures of revenues belonging to the federation. It is incumbent on the minister to monitor and manage accruals and payouts from the earnings of government. It is therefore logical that in the events of shortfall, she should be able to properly investigate the causes and sources and properly account whenever required. That is what Nigerians expected from her. That is what both the Senate and House of Representatives required of her. But she would rather play smart by trying to distance herself and her office from the inquisition and attacks that followed the allegations by the suspended CBN governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. When the Senate committee probing the allegations sought her opinion on the matter, she said her ministry lacked the “capacity and expertise” to guarantee the authenticity of documents, and will prefer an independent forensic review to “satisfy Nigerians,” leading the upper legislative chamber to order a forensic review of documents presented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). She was also quoted to have said in a recent statement that she wants to see “the truth from an investigation under the auspices of the Auditor-General, which … should be undertaken as a matter of extreme urgency by independent external auditor.” Because of her pedigree and World Bank background, Okonjo-Iweala is the only person in the administration that could counter the allegations by the suspended CBN governor. The world expected her to speak up. She is the only voice the financial world would believe more than Sanusi’s in this circumstance. The minister cannot say she does not know the truth. She went through the books. She has been minister of finance under two different administrations, which places her in good stead to say whether what the corporation has done is different from what it used to do or ought to do. The administration needed her strong voice to end this matter once and for all. Isidore lives in Enugu, Enugu State