$2.4bn Fuel Subsidy Fraud Probe Led To My Mother’s Kidnap – Okonjo-Iweala

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has recounted how her investigation into an alleged $2.4 billion gasoline subsidy fraud in Nigeria triggered threats towards her and the kidnapping of her mom in 2012.

Okonjo-Iweala, who was Nigeria’s finance minister on the time, stated the abductors demanded that she resign from workplace and depart the nation in change for her mom’s launch.

She disclosed this throughout an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua on the Leaders programme, printed earlier this week.

The former minister stated the investigation started after officers seen a pointy enhance in claims submitted by gasoline importers underneath Nigeria’s gasoline subsidy programme.

At the time, Nigeria relied on imported refined petroleum merchandise to satisfy home demand, regardless of being a serious crude oil producer. Under the subsidy association, the federal government paid importers to allow them to promote petrol at regulated costs.

However, Okonjo-Iweala stated the rising claims raised suspicions, prompting her to hunt approval from the president to audit the accounts.

“So I went to the president and said, look, something is going on here. Could we audit the accounts? And he said, yes, go ahead. And we found about $2.4 billion worth of fraud. So we refused to pay,” she stated.

According to her, the choice to withhold the disputed funds triggered threats towards her earlier than her mom, Kamene Okonjo, was kidnapped.

“I was told that for her to be released, I should resign and leave the country,” she stated.

Recalling the incident, Okonjo-Iweala described the five-day ordeal as some of the painful experiences of her life, saying she feared her actions might value her mom her life.

“It was a terrible, terrible five-day ordeal. I think the worst in my life,” she stated.

She disclosed that her mom was held in a forest earlier than escaping one evening.

“She was held in the middle of a forest, and one night she escaped. She’s still alive. She’s 96 now,” she stated.

The WTO chief added that her mom nonetheless turns into distressed every time the incident is mentioned.

Asked whether or not she thought-about resigning through the disaster, Okonjo-Iweala stated she would have chosen her mom’s life over remaining in workplace.

“Between my mother, having my mother alive and staying in a job, I would pick my mother any day,” she stated.

However, she recalled that her father urged her to not give in to the abductors’ calls for.

“He said, we don’t give in to blackmail. And he said, you’ve got to carry on. You’ve got to go to work,” she recounted.

Okonjo-Iweala stated she initially felt paralysed by concern and regarded resigning to safe her mom’s launch.

She added that the expertise left her with a lingering sense of guilt, regardless of her efforts to handle the alleged fraud.

“I never dreamt my parents could ever be touched in this way, that people would be that evil,” she stated.

The WTO director-general stated her experiences over time had made her extra affected person and strengthened her dedication to hunt options when confronted with tough conditions.

Reflecting on the significance of tackling corruption, significantly in nations with restricted assets, she stated public funds have to be protected.

“I feel that this is a real fight that has to be waged. If you are a country that is not that rich, every single penny counts,” she stated.

Okonjo-Iweala served as Nigeria’s finance minister underneath former President Goodluck Jonathan earlier than changing into the WTO director-general in March 2021.

Her mom was kidnapped from her house in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, in December 2012. The incident attracted widespread public consideration amid considerations over the protection of the finance minister’s household.