Nigeria Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has linked her mother’s kidnap to fuel subsidy payments and Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). In her first news conference in Abuja following the kidnap and subsequent release of her 83-year-old mother, Prof Kameme Okonjo, the minister said her mother was left without food and water for five days.
Okonjo, a professor of sociology and the wife of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State, regained her freedom on Friday after she was kidnapped on Dec. 9.
“My mother is a very courageous woman; God was with her because she suffered a great deal in this. She was taken away and kept for five days and without food or water; and for an 83-year old woman, it’s a miracle. While she was there, she kept asking what it was all about and she was told that her daughter did not pay oil subsidy money and that her daughter blocked payments to certain parts of the SURE-P programme. Those were the two things that were said.
“I just want to clarify that in the case of the payments for oil subsidy, we have been paying marketers who have been verified by the Aig-Imoukhuede committee.”
She insisted that government and the public position on fuel subsidy payments was that payments would be made only for verified transactions. On SURE-P, she said the finance ministry was not involved in the disbursements, adding that the committee set up to manage the programme was responsible for the payment process.
The minister expressed gratitude to President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, Vice President Namadi Sambo, the Senate President, David Mark and the governors of Delta, Anambra and Rivers states for their support during her mother’s ordeal.
She also acknowledged the love and support of Nigerians and security agencies during the trying times, saying that many Nigerians prayed in the churches and mosques for the safety of her mother.
The minister, who said “the experience has strengthened her faith in Nigeria’’, described the outpouring of international support as “unprecedented.’’ She said she received goodwill messages from UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, the U.K Prime Minister, David Cameron, the United States government, and the World Bank President, Jim Young Kim.
