The Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has described Dino Melaye as a "disreputable former member of the House of Representatives". She also accused Melaye of lacking honour and common decency.
Reacting to a protest led by Dino to the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday calling for the resignation of the controversial minister, Okonjo-Iweala accused him of being sponsored by oil marketers indicted in the subsidy probe.
But in a swift reaction Dino has said he would sue the minister for Libel.
Melaye, who took to Twitter to respond to Okonjo-Iweala said in one of his tweets “We asked why will (minister of) finance pay oil thieves without due diligence and scrutiny, so how does this relate to sponsorship from oil thieves?”
Below is the full statement from the Minister of Finance:
Earlier today (7th November, 2012), a disreputable former member of the House of Representatives, Mr Dino Melaye brought a handful of demonstrators to the Federal Ministry of Finance who conducted themselves in an unruly manner.
We have it on good authority that Mr Melaye’s group was sponsored by some of the indicted oil barons who are currently being investigated and prosecuted for subsidy fraud. Their allegation to wrong subsidy payments made by the Ministry is a mere ruse to conceal their true motives.
It is important to note that the Federal Ministry of Finance does not pay any contractors directly. The relevant ministries do. So this allegation by Mr Melaye and his group is completely wrong and without foundation.
Also, whenever its statutory mandate requires that it makes any payments, the Ministry follows strict payment procedures and only pays when there is appropriate documentation from relevant agencies.
The Melaye demonstration was ostensibly to call for the resignation of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance who is well known for fighting the fraudulent oil barons whose names were published by the Federal Ministry of Finance for various breaches of the subsidy regime.
Nigerians are, of course, not deceived by the antics of Mr Melaye who has no known pedigree as a civil society activist or even a reputation for honour or common decency.
When asked by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Danladi Kifasi to submit a written statement, Mr Melaye said that they did not come with any. This gives an indication of the level of seriousness of the effort.
Curiously, Mr Melaye and his cohorts, in making their frivolous allegations, did not mention the fact that the Federal Ministry of Finance under the leadership of Dr Okonjo-Iweala took the unprecedented step of publishing the names of 25 companies which were investigated by the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee for various breaches of the subsidy regime.
They also neglected to say that many of the indicted marketers are currently undergoing interrogation and prosecution. As a direct result of the Ministry’s efforts against corruption in the subsidy regime and tighter procedures, the nation has saved billions of Naira that would otherwise have gone to corrupt marketers.
The Federal Ministry of Finance stands steadfast in its resolve to fight against corruption and manage the finances of the country in the best interest of the Nigerian people.
Paul C. Nwabuikwu
Senior Special Assistant to the
Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Financ
