OIL CABAL RESPONSIBLE FOR MY MOTHER'S KIDNAP:OKONJO-IWEALA

Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister for the Economy and minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Monday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, confirmed the suspicions that her mother, Professor Keneme Okonjo was kidnapped by those who have scores to settle with the minister over non-payment of oil subsidy moneys.Okonjo-Iweala, who expressed gratitude to Almighty God over the safe return of her mother by the kidnappers, said her mother was kidnapped by people who felt she (minister) was responsible for their not been paid oil subsidy money and also blocking the release of funds for the SURE-Programme.The minister, who spoke in her office , said that Professor Keneme was told by her kidnapper that “her daughter did not pay oil subsidy money and was also blocking payment of certain parts of the SURE-Programme money.”She said, “I just want to clarify that in the case of payment for oil subsidy money, we have been paying marketers who have been verified by Aig Imoukhuede Committee that their transactions are clean. We have done that and will continue to do that.”“For those transactions that are not verified, the government position is that if they are not verified then we will not be able to pay and that position continues. I think this is what Nigerians want. Nigerians want only honest people who have been doing transactions are paid and we have been doing that. Those transactions that have not been verified or where it is showing that the marketers are owing government money, the government position is that we would not be able to pay.”In the case of the SURE-Programme, Okonjo-Iweala explained that there was a totally different process which had nothing to do with the Ministry of Finance. “With the special committee that was set up, they do not come via the normal ministry of finance. It goes through other processes over which I do not have control,” the minister said.