Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

By Festus Akanbi                                                                                                                    

Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has dismissed the claim that she influenced the siting of a constituency project in her home town, Ogwashi Uku, Delta State.

Spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Hon Zakari Mohd, was last week quoted as having alleged that Okonjo-Iweala influenced the siting of a N1.3 billion project in her constituency.

However, the minister, during her appearance before the Senate last week, dismissed the allegation, saying the project was indeed brought to the community by a former member of the House of Representatives.

She said: “The honourable member is advised to crosscheck his facts before rushing to make public statements.

“The project in question, a dam, was not brought to Ogwashi Uku by me but by a former colleague of the honourable member who was representing the community in the House.

“For the record, I am pleased with the project because it will impact positively on Ogwashi Uku people who are part and parcel of Nigeria. In fact I have played a role in ensuring that some deficiencies of the project are corrected so that it can achieve the objectives for which it was designed.

“But it is not right to distort facts just to make a point. The national assembly and the executive are partners in progress and as the leadership of both houses have said the focus should be on improving the welfare of Nigerians not on peddling invented facts and controversies.”