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Former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has revealed that the president Goodluck Jonathan-led administration had to pay a whooping N17 billion to get the 2015 budget passed by the 7th National Assembly.
Okonjo-Iweala who made the revelations in her book, entitled “Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines,” stressed that the N17 billion became the price to pay to have the 2015 budget passed.
Her words: “By the we presented the budget on December 16, 2014,oil prices had fallen further to $58 per barrel. We were prepared and knew we had to trigger the additional expenditure and revenue measures in 2015 to make the budget work. This would be tough given that we had an election year. Indeed, legislators initially refused to accept any cuts to their regular N150 billion budget, despite dwindling revenues. But eventually they agreed to a 13 percent cut against backdrop of ministers accepting a voluntary 50 percent cut to their basic salaries.
“In a tough session with the national Assembly’s ad hoc committee on the budget (made up of chairs of the Finance Committee and Appropriation Committee of both chambers and other leaders of National Assembly), an additional N20 billion was reintroduced as election as election expenses for National Assembly members. We insisted the amount be dropped because it nullified the 13% cut made to their statutory budget, but managed to reduce the N20bn figure by N3 billion to N17 billion. This became the price to pay to have the 2015 budget passed.”
Meanwhile, the Director, Strategic Communications of President Buhari 2019 Presidential Campaign (2019), Festus Keyamo has taken a swipe at the Peoples Democratic Party leadership, describing the previous administration as lacking the nerve to fight corruption.
Keyamo who cited the former economy minister’s book in a his post on his official Twitter account said, “Okonjo-Iweala’s account shows how the previous govt caved in to corruption. It had no nerve to fight it. These are the same people now seeking alliances here & there to return in 2019 & continue these old ways of doing things.”
Compatriots, this? account below by no other than Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala shows how the previous govt caved in to corruption. It had no nerve to fight it. These are the same people now seeking alliances here & there to return in 2019 & continue these old ways of doing things. pic.twitter.com/IyrUUdfMSS
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— Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) May 25, 2018