Politics

Okonjo-Iweala says govs lacked will to save, not Jonathan

Published

8 years ago

April 16, 2016

Former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says her statements on lack of political will to save for the future by the last administration was distorted.

She stated that rather, the Jonathan administration was willing to save for Nigerians, but that the plan was opposed by the state governors at the time.

Media Adviser to Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu in a statement on Friday, said that “Contrary to the slant, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala did not indict the Jonathan administration in which she served.

“Rather, she was referring to what many Nigerians already know: the strong opposition by some governors to the Jonathan government’s efforts to save in the Excess Crude Account and the Sovereign Wealth Fund sabotaged this important national priority.

“The governors’ criticism of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s many calls for the country to save for the rainy day are still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.

“It will be recalled that this opposition culminated in the Governors taking the Jonathan government to the Supreme Court in furtherance of their position that the Federal Government had no right to ‘compel’ them to save.

“So the issue of Okonjo-Iweala indicting the Jonathan administration over this very public issue simply does not arise”, the statement read.

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