No hidden agenda in Nigeria’s IMF Board rep appointment, says Okonjo-Iweala
The minister describes speculations that she has a hidden Igbo agenda as “scurrilous campaign to tarnish” her image.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinator for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is furious over the allegation that she masterminded the appointment of Nigeria’s representative on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, describing the allegation as “falsehood”.

There have been suggestions by critics that the minister single-handedly plotted the selection of Nigeria’s representative on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, to realize a hidden Igbo agenda.

But the Minister, who is currently in Washington for the 2013 annual Spring Meetings of the IMF, described the allegations as mere falsehood that would not stand, pointing out that it was obvious they were coming from the same persons that accused her of appointing Igbos into top positions in the finance sector, though they were already there before her re-appointment.

The Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, Paul Nwabuikwu, said the attempt to dent the image of the minister through “creative lies” would fail, because “nothing built on falsehood will endure.”

Mr. Nwabuikwu described insinuations concerning Mr. Nnanna’s appointment as the “desperation of its peddlers to do mischief”, a “scurrilous campaign to tarnish the image of the minister”. He said there are very few public officers in the country with the “pan-Nigerian spirit” as Ms. Okonjo-Iweala.

According to Mr. Nwabuikwu, the two Executive Directors representing Nigeria at the World Bank and the African Development Bank, ADB, namely, Mansur Muhtar, who was a former finance minister, and Alhaji Shehu, were nominated by Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, during Segun Aganga’s tenure in the ministry.

“Dr. Nnannah, a senior staff of the CBN, who retired as an Adviser, a significantly lower position than an Executive Director, was recommended for the position by the Director, International Economic Relations (IER) in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Haruna Mohammed, after going through a competitive process established by the Governors of the African Constituency at the IMF. So, where is the Igbo agenda?

“The bottom line is that Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s reputation as a hard working patriot working for the best of the country is intact and impregnable and no amount of creative lies can dent it,” Mr. Nwabuikwu said.

On Wednesday, speculations were rife that the secret appointment of Joseph Nnannah as Nigeria’s representative on the Executive Board of the Fund in Washington DC was causing ripples in the country as senior officials at the Federal Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, accused the Minister of ignoring laid down procedures, rules and established practices in the nomination and appointment processes.

The Executive Board, consisting 24 Executive Directors appointed or elected by member countries or by groups of countries, is responsible for conducting the day-to-day business of the IMF.

Nigeria was requested to nominate a candidate for the new Executive Director position created late last year, to be rotated between it and South Africa as the two largest economies in the Sub-Saharan Africa constituency at the organization.

It was gathered that when the request from the nomination of a candidate got to the Ministry, none of the top officials in the Ministry, including the Permanent Secretary, Danladi Kifasi, and Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama, was privy to the information.

The Minister was alleged to have rushed Mr. Nnannah’s curriculum vitae to President Goodluck Jonathan for his approval without considering existing procedures and established practices on such appointments, which is usually rotated between senior Ministry officials and the CBN to provide the platform to improve their career knowledge and skills.

“Nobody knew about the discussions with the President. Even the documentation processes were kept completely secret until Dr. Nnannah resumed at the IMF in Washington. Up till now, no official announcement has been made about the appointment, though Dr. Nnannah resumed at the IMF since January,” a source close to the Ministry of Finance headquarters, who doesn’t want to be named, said on Wednesday in Abuja.

The source, who criticized the nomination and appointment processes as lacking in transparency, said other ministries responsible for sending Nigerians to several United Nations and multilateral organizations have always followed due process, with clear succession plan.

He accused the Minister of promoting a hidden ethnic agenda to assist in building a strong CV for Mr. Nnannah to position him as a credible candidate to succeed CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, when his tenure comes to an end.

This latest controversy follows another ongoing one involving the finance minister and a civil servant, Yushau Shuaib.

Mr. Shuaib, the ex-spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency had written an article alleging that Ms. Okonjo-Iweala was favouring Igbos in finance-related appointments.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the Federal Government subsequently moved against Mr. Shuaib by relieving him of his position at the emergency agency and having the information ministry recall him.

http://premiumtimesng.com/business/130528-no-hidden-agenda-in-nigerias-imf-board-rep-appointment-says-okonjo-iweala.html

They should leave this woman alone.

Cbn Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Dispels Rumour That Okonjo Iweala Is Pursuin

Some Diaspora Nigerians had a Media Chat with the Nigeria Economic Team here in Washington yesterday and the issue of allegations of ethnic agenda against Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala came up.

This is what Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had to say;

''I cant understand these people, I was the one who came to Washington DC and got in touch with Mustapher Chike-Obi who was in New York to come and head AMCON. I took it upon myself to search for him because when we were at Kings College he was one of the most brilliant chaps that school has ever produced and while at Goldman Sachs, he excelled. He is world class, so I decided to bring him back to use his wealth of experience in Investment Banking to serve his fatherland.

Ngozi has nothing to do with this.

On Kingsley Muoghalu who is one of my Deputies at CBN. I also went to London to poach him, the guy is good,he knows his onions, and I dont care which part of Nigeria he comes from.This was done even before Ngozi joined the government,so how can she be responsible for this''.

Nigeria is becoming such an interesting place that anything anyone does, must have an ethnic colouration or a hidden ethnic agenda.People do not understand what diversity means, says Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Responding, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that of all those appointments they are accusing her of influencing, only two was approved during her tenure as Finance Minister,others have either been appointed or has the process of their approval endorsed by the government before she joined this government. And on those two that were approved, the process were handled by the respective Permanent Secretaries on the order of the President.

On the sacking of the NEMA spokesperson who was used to start all this, she said she has no hand in that.That there are standing civil service rules every civil servant must abide with and you dont work for government and at the same time using your position to attack the same government openly when there are available channels to address your misgivings. According to her, Shuaibu's superiors simply followed laid down rules, a comment that former Minister of Finance and presently Nigeria's Executive Director at the World Bank, Mansur Mukthar agreed with.

http://www.naijapundit.com/news/cbn-governor-sanusi-lamido-sanusi-dispels-rumour-that-okonjo-iweala-is-pursuing-ethnic-agenda

Until President Jonathan changes his name to Buhari or Musa, everything he does or that is done under his regime will be harshly criticised. The funny side of the criticisms is that MOST of the critics exhibit shameful IGNORANCE.

very well then!

This is nigeria. That is the politics. Nothing like merit.

Bikonu, which kind useless country dem born me into?

Where nothing can be done without having backward-minded illiterates reading tribal nonsense into it.

You fire pesin, dem go call am "calculated tribal marginalization".

You appoint pesin, dem go call am "tribal supremacist agenda".

You promote a General, dem go call am "tribal military dominance conspiracy".

You get shortlisted for Miss Nigeria Beauty Show, dem go call am "tribal beauty propaganda"

You write memoir sef, dem go call am "tribalistic selective revisionist antagonism".

Okay... Issorait.

you need to be yoruba fulani or hausa otherwise you are a tribalist.
but if you are yoruba hausa or fulani just do as you like remove others and replace with your people you are patrotic.

nonsense country. this woman should quit this government and work away.