#BBB NEWS| Ex-Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala Lashes Out, Slams Femi Falana As A Tool Of The Corrupt

Former Minister of Finance/Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Monday dismissed the well-respected legal luminary, Femi Falana, as “a tool of corrupt elements” whose interests were hurt by her anti-corruption fight while she was in office.

In a press statement signed by her media adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu, she described what she called Falana’s “malicious attempt” to mix her up in the $2.1 billion arms scandal of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in his letter to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as “a desperate joke by an integrity challenged charlatan”.

Describing herself as “a strong transparency advocate and anti-corruption fighter,” Okonjo-Iweala diagnosed Falana’s ailment as Chronic Cerebral Amnesia (CCA) because, according to her, he has no grasp of the facts.

“This misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have any idea of what the mandate of the ICC is about,” she said, speculating that Falana resorted to the action because his previous efforts to tarnish her name failed because they were lacking in credibility.

#BBB NEWS| How Jonathan, Nigeria’s Ex-Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala Illegally Diverted N61.4 billion Abacha Loot To Former NSA, Sambo Dasuki

The immediate past Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, illegally approved the transfer of at least N61.4 billion ($300 million and £5.5 million) from funds recovered from late dictator, Sani Abacha, to the Office of the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, few weeks to the 2015 presidential election, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today.

The former Minister signed off on the transfer but then closed her eyes to how the funds were spent, requesting then President Goodluck Jonathan to directly demand accountability from Mr. Dasuki, according to documents seen by this newspaper.

The funds were never appropriated before they were transferred, a clear violation of Nigeria’s fiscal responsibility law.

Mr. Dasuki, alongside the former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa and founder of DAAR communications, owners of Africa Independent Television and Raypower radio network, Raymond Dokpesi, are being investigated for their roles in the disbursement of $2.1 billion and N643 billion meant for the procurement of arms to fight the raging insurgency in Nigeria’s north east region.