"I Didn't Grant Waiver For Aviation Minister Stella Oduah's Armoured Cars" - Okonjo Iweala Screams Again

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Finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Monday again forcefully denied granting import duty waivers to cover the two armoured cars purchased by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, for the aviation minister, Stella Oduah, distancing herself from blame in a scandal that has smeared many government officials.

The Truth about FG’s position On ASUU Strike Revealed by Finance Ministry, says Iweala is not the Problem

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This is a press statement from the Federal Ministry of Finance concerning the ongoing ASUU strike. It's been four long months (Quite shameful I must add) without any apparent resolution to the conflict in sight...and some folks are blaming the Minister of finance Dr Okonjo Iweala for what's going on. following the break. Some people in ASUU have been distributing flyers with abusive messages against Dr Okonjo-Iweala and now the ministry is issuing a statement about it, saying the minister isn't the problem. I'd rather read about when ASUU is calling off this strike to be honest.

See the press release after the break

Amaechi’s NGF calls for Okonjo-Iweala’s resignation

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Members of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum have called on the Minister of Finance, who is also the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to resign her appointment if she knew she would not be able to adhere strictly with the Appropriation Act 2013.

They said the non-compliance with the revenue projections of the Federal Government 2013 Budget was also a direct breach of the provisions of the Appropriation Act, 2013.

These decisions were part of the resolutions of the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led NGF, which met in Abuja on Tuesday evening.

C.A.T.B

Why Okonjo-Iweala should resign now!

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She was recently listed as one of the most powerful women in the world. Her name conjures up the image of an Amazon who symbolises excellence and the height of intellectual achievement. She is by no means a role model and a worthy example of the level Nigerian women can attain if given the opportunity to excel. There is also no doubt that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is one of Nigeria’s proud exports. One cannot but admire her simplicity and self-effacing demeanour. Personally, I am in awe of her spartan fashion style.
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Unemployment giving me sleepless nights — Okonjo-Iweala

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The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the spate of unemployment in the country is giving her sleepless nights.

Okonjo-Iweala said this while inspecting an ultramodern Information and Communications Technology factory of Omatek Nigeria Plc in Lagos on Friday.

She said, 

“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, each year, about 1.8m young Nigerians enter into our labour market and we need to ensure that our economy provides jobs for them.

“In fact, some people ask, ‘What keeps you awake at night, with regard to this economy?’ I say it is the issue of job creation. And I know this is what keeps Mr. President (Goodluck Jonathan) awake at night as well.

“That is why we have responded to the challenge of creating jobs by trying to transform several sectors of the economy; from agriculture, where we’re expecting to create 3.5m jobs and where the progress of reaching our goal of feeding this country is already well advanced.”

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Okonjo-Iweala Opens Up, Says Nigeria Economy Is In Danger

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On Monday, June 10, at the third round of the 2013 ministerial platform in Abuja, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, spoke glowingly about the Nigerian economy, saying the fundamentals were strong and that the economy was buoyant beyond danger.

But a few hours later, on Tuesday, when all the doors were closed, the minister sang a different tune. She told her colleagues in government point blank that the Nigerian economy is shaky despite the official fundamentals and that drastic steps are needed to save it from collapse.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala spoke at the 50th meeting of the 15-member Federal Government Economic Implementation Team held behind closed-doors at the presidential villa.

Must See: Clarifying Nigeria's debt position - Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (G7 or F9 Economies lol)

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A statement from the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

There has recently been a lot of misinformation and misconception in our public debate on debt. My goal in this article is to shed some light on the public debt, to clarify the real state of Nigeria’s debt position, and hopefully, provide a knowledge platform for constructive debate.

Let me say at the outset that no one in government is supportive of a Nigeria that returns to a high state of indebtedness. On a personal note, having gone through tremendous stress during the quest for Paris Club debt relief, I am committed to a Nigerian economy that is fiscally prudent, balances its books and remains at a low state of indebtedness.

To begin, Nigeria’s overall debt is comprised of external and domestic debts. The external debt is typically owed to foreign creditors such as multilateral agencies (for example, the Africa Development Bank, the World Bank, or the Islamic Development Bank), to bilateral sources (such as the China Exim Bank, the French Development Bank or the Japanese Aid Agency), or to private creditors such as investors in our Eurobonds.

Video: Okonjo-Iweala's interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour

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Rebuilding Africa 'can't be dependent on donors' – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

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Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala wants African people to be able to transform their own lives. Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

Nigerian finance minister, in Liberia as part of UN development panel, wants innovation, infrastructure and jobs for Africa

Better infrastructure, more jobs and innovative ways to pay for both are needed to ensure Africa's development, the Nigerian finance minister said on Friday.

Improving access to electricity, building rural roads, and providing water and sanitation, particularly in increasingly crowded urban areas, "matter so much" to Africans, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told the Guardian.

"How do you transform the economy? You've got to provide the basic infrastructure for people to transform their own lives," she said. "You're killing many birds with one stone. If people have power, the welder in a rural area can make money, a woman can make money, children can read, health centres can have cold storage facilities."

2012 budget: FG releases N300bn for capital projects

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Coordinating Minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
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2013 budget is prudent, reasonable, says finance minister

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Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Thursday allayed fears about the workability of the ministry’s 2013 budget.
In a statement by her spokesman, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, the minister said the presentation of the national budget by President Goodluck Jonathan in October was the earliest in recent memory.
She also said criticisms of the ministry’s aspect of the budget were unwarranted.