WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. officials have vehemently denied ever telling a
Nigerian Governor who accompanied President Buhari to Washington, DC, for a
meeting with President Obama from the 19th-22nd of July, that a minister in the former Goodluck Jonathan administration stole $6 billion.
The allegation was made by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo
State. A call to high officials of the U.S. Department of State said no U.S.
official ever made that kind of a statement.
It would be recalled that since President Buhari took office,
Mr. Oshiomhole has been on a crusade to implicate some former ministers in the
former Goodluck Jonathan of stealing money.
Mr. Oshiomhole has been on a running battle with the former
Minister of Finance and Supervising Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who he
accused of withdrawing $2 billion from government accounts for Jonathan’s
reelection campaign.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala who had served in the Obasanjo administration
as Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, before resigning and being
appointed Managing Director at the World Bank, from where she left again to
serve her country, has denied the accusations.
In May this year, after leaving office, Yale University honored
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala with an award for her outstanding performance.
According to the State Department official, “the U.S. should not
be drawn into such irresponsible comment as alleged by Mr. Oshiomhole.
“America has a transparent administration that doesn’t hide when
people make a statement. “If Mr. Oshiomhole claims a U.S. official told him that a
Nigerian minister stole $6 billion, he should name the official instead of
hiding behind an anonymous source.”
Nigerians are beginning to speculate that Mr. Oshiomhole’s
marriage to a beautiful Ethiopian lady is getting to his head. “He is trying to impress the woman, as ugly and short as he is,”
said a Nigerian resident in Washington, DC area.
“He thinks by making all these accusations and being in the
public eye, he could maintain her staying with him. “Look, his accusations have already worked – Buhari took him and
his wife to Washington, DC.”
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