Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has denied that she said the Jonathan administration bribed leaders of the National Assembly with N17 billion to get the 2015 budget passed.
She made the clarification in a Sunday statement through her Media Adviser , Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, The Punch reported.
Leaders of the National Assembly in the 7th Assembly had denied that the Jonathan administration bribed them with the money as purportedly claimed by Okonjo-Iweala in her book, “Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines.”
She had allegedly said this while describing the arm-twisting and blackmail characteristic of the National Assembly in their interaction with the Federal Government of the time.
She was quoted as having said that the National Assembly leadership arm-twisted the Federal Government to insert N17 billion into the budget to fund their reelection bids in addition to the regular N150 annual budget of the Assembly.
But the then Minority Leader in the House of Reps, Femi Gbajabiamiala and Chairman of House Committee on Finance, Abdulmumin Jibrin denied the alleged bribery.
However, in her response Okonjo-Iweala said that she never described the N17 billion as a bribe.
“It is important that people read the book for themselves. In the case of the N17bn, the book does not talk of bribe.
“It indicates that lawmakers increased the budget by N17bn and we had to accept that to move on; hence, the term ‘price to pay’.
“The reason for discussing what happened is that this approach needs to change. The country must clear up and clarify its budget process for the future to improve.”
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