Okonjo Fires back!! Faults Newspaper over Negative Report

 The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has expressed disgust over a newspaper editorial in the Sunday Trust Newspaper of May 10, 2015 titled:  “The Sorry Record of Madam Ngozi.”
Reacting to the editorial in a statement issued by her Media Adviser, Miss Constance Ikoku, the minister said rather than launch vicious attacks on a woman, who has worked very hard for the country at enormous personal cost, including the kidnap of her mother due to her fight against oil subsidy fraudsters, “Sunday Trust should focus on being a professional organisation.”

The piece, the minister noted, seemed to  have been deliberately aimed at destroying her  reputation, adding that a publishing outfit that flaunts a logo of “The Newspaper that you can Trust” has shown that it does not and cannot adhere to its own guiding principle because of its bias, prejudice and knack for unprofessionalism.”

According to the minister, “Daily Trust Newspaper Group cannot be trusted and I will explain why in the following paragraphs.”
 “The finance minister had always said from the beginning when oil prices took a nose-dive that 2015 will be a difficult year for the country given that it has lost half of its revenue.  She and her team went to work immediately the problem started, putting in place adequate measures to see us through this challenging time.

“A cut in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) overhead, travel and training were initiated along with further cuts in the cost of governance such – 23 per cent cut in the National Assembly and 25 per cent at the State House; a luxury tax was put in place; the work that has already started on increasing revenue through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) was accelerated; and a cut in overall government expenditure was introduced. Government also prioritised payment of salaries.

“For the Sunday Trust to say sarcastically that government “went a borrowing”, it means that the paper has chosen to be selective in reporting the facts in order to suit its agenda. There is room for borrowing in the budget every year as approved by the National Assembly and this year is not different.

“There is no household or country that loses half of its income and does not feel the pinch. The most important thing is to stay focused in tackling the issue, which is exactly what the finance minister is doing. Papers like Sunday Trust should encourage the incoming administration to focus on measures to properly manage the economy and ensure salaries and pensions are paid the way this administration has done.

“They should desist from demonisation of the finance minister. Her record of accomplishments is known the world over, so the paper is wasting its time on negatives,” the statement pointed out.

 The minister recalled  that under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration, a 50 per cent increase in wages was awarded to civil servants, noting that  with that came an increase in pensions as well “and this happened when the finance minister was not in government.

“These are issues this government is faced with and Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has been dealing with them without demonising anyone.
“Sunday Trust went further to claim that the minister “controversially rebased the economy and claimed that it is the biggest in Africa despite the stark reality of epileptic power supply, very high unemployment and grinding poverty.”

 “Again, it is unbelievable that a whole Editorial Board of a newspaper can be this ignorant and myopic! Papers like Sunday Trust are so preoccupied with sowing seeds of discord and hatred that they stand truth on the head. Our school children who read papers are in trouble if this is all an Editorial Board can produce. It is shameful.

“Whether Sunday Trust likes it or not, Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa and that is a fact. Rebasing of the economy does not mean that all the challenges faced by a country disappear immediately. It is a critical exercise that helps policy makers plan appropriately.  We cannot move blindly and expect a miracle,” the minister added.

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