Sahara Reporters published a report a few days
ago, claiming that the office of the 1st Lady
obtained import waiver to import 200 BMW cars
for her “Africa First Ladies” summit in 2012. The
ministry of Finance says the report is false.
Saharareporters insists it's true & has responded.
Find a statement from the ministry of finance
below and SR's response after the cut...
Saharareporter's story on waiver granted
office of the First Lady is a complete
distortion
The story by Saharareporters on the so-
called waivers scandal in which the
notorious news website made outrageous
allegations against the Office of the First
Lady is a false exclusive based on distorted
information.
The website merely extracted and distorted
information on the list of beneficiaries of the
revised waivers policy which the Federal
Ministry of Finance voluntarily published as
part of its drive for transparency and
accountability. Continue...
The revised waivers policy replaces the old
regime of individual waivers with the objective of
boosting key sectors such as agriculture, power,
gas and mines/steel. The strategy is to deploy
waivers as a stronger tool of economic
development.
Part of the information published by the Federal
Ministry of Finance was a list of state
governments, private sector organizations and
other institutions which were granted waivers to
bring in vehicles for various events including
sports festivals, conferences and workshops. This
practice did not begin with the Jonathan
administration.
Beneficiaries of the waivers for vehicle imports
include state governments such as Akwa Ibom,
Rivers and Lagos as well as organizations such as
the continental First Ladies Forum which was
granted a waiver for vehicles required for their
event hosted by Nigeria. The First Lady did not in
any way personally benefit from this waiver.
It is important to recall the fact that the country
has a nascent leasing industry and no company in
the sector currently has the quantity and quality of
vehicles required for such events. Government is
encouraging private sector organizations with the
requisite focus and expertise in this area and the
hope is that soon it would no longer be necessary
to grant such waivers.
The resort to falsehood by Saharareporters based
on a distortion of information voluntarily made
available by government underscores the
desperation of this scurrilous medium and its
paymasters.
Paul C Nwabuikwu
Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the
Economy and Minister of Finance.
The Truth about the Federal Government of
Nigeria’s Waiver Policy
1. You may recall that the
Punch Newspaper published editorials accusing
the government and the Federal Ministry of
Finance of running a corrupt waiver policy, and
challenged the Federal Ministry of Finance to
publish those waivers. (http://bit.ly/1jCH3j4 )
2. The Federal Ministry of Finance categorically
refutes the allegation that it is running a corrupt
waiver policy.
3. Two years ago the Executive introduced a
total reform of the waiver policy. Waivers are now
only granted on a sectoral basis. This means that
every company in the sector enjoys the same
waiver privileges. All companies or entities
involved in a sector or given activity will benefit
from the same waivers once they meet the
necessary criteria.
4. The Federal Ministry of Finance published an
abbreviated version of the full waiver report in
several newspapers. It was also announced that
the full version is available at
www.budgetoffice.gov.ng and on social media
(http://on.fb.me/1fWHYG5 ).
5. The SaharaReporters claim that the Federal
Ministry of Finance surreptitiously released an
updated waiver list on the web only on December
22nd, 2013 is categorically false. In the spirit of
transparency, the full waiver list was made public
on December 3 rd
6. For the avoidance of doubt: the Federal
Ministry of Finance has never denied issuing
waivers to African First Ladies Forum conference.
This official event for First Ladies of all the other
African countries necessitated vehicles for the
transport of these visiting dignitaries. The waiver
granted for this occasion is similar to other
waivers issued to various state governments and
government institutions such as Rivers, Lagos,
and Akwa Ibom for similar official sporting and
conference events.
7. As always The Federal Ministry of Finance
welcomes all legitimate inquiries and criticisms.
The Ministry of Finance cannot be expected to
remain silent when falsification and distortion of
facts occurs.
Paul C Nwabuikwu
Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the
Economy and Minister of Finance.
Sahara Reporters Response below...
By Omoyele Sowore
Dear Minister Of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala : It
has come to our attention that your Special
Assistant on Media, Paul Nwabuikwu, is circulating
a press statement to a select group of news
outlets and bloggers describing as false a report
by SaharaReporters about import waivers obtained
by Mrs. Patience Jonathan’s office to import 200
BMW cars for her “Africa First Ladies” summit in
2012.
While your aide’s statement did not dispute the
existence of waivers that were ultimately granted
to Coscharis Motors to import the cars, he went to
great lengths to accuse SaharaReporters of
distorting the information released by your office.
We are not in the least surprised that you would
authorize your aide’s misleading press release
aimed at casting aspersions on us. This
mendacious release is consistent with your style
of responding to legitimate questions about your
conduct as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance. You have
established a reputation for intolerance of
principled and accurate media reports once they
raise questions about your ministerial judgments
or reflect poorly on your performance.
You would recall that, on December 3rd, 2013, you
published a doctored list of beneficiaries of import
waivers in response to pressures mounted on
your office by Nigeria’s PUNCH newspaper.
Without question, you had hoped to bamboozle the
public with this incomplete list. However, we
refused to accept your list for publication, having
received information from officials who should
know that your list was distorted and incomplete,
indeed an attempt to hoodwink gullible reporters
and Nigerians. Yesterday, your office
surreptitiously released an updated list on the web.
It is this fuller list that revealed part of how the
First Lady has benefited significantly from the
questionable dispensation of import waivers to
politically connected individuals and firms. We duly
acknowledged our source.
The tone of your aide’s press statement makes it
clear that you had hoped that your updated list
would not become public knowledge. That explains
the harsh and predictable attack on our medium.
Since your statement claimed that Mrs. Jonathan
did not benefit from the imported BMWs, we urge
you to go a step further: produce the list of
beneficiaries and providing the chasses numbers
of the BMWs imported under the questionable
waivers you granted to Coscharis Motors in 2012.
In addition, we challenge you to provide evidence
that Coscharis Motors imported the vehicles for
which the waivers were granted.
You should also do the Nigerian public the great
service of explaining why presidential spokesman,
Reuben Abati, claimed that the Federal
Government had not contributed a dime to the
importation of the BMWs, when your office had
indeed granted waivers worth N560 million to the
controversial auto dealer.
Since you claimed that your latest release was
driven by your desire to ensure transparency, we
await a detailed response to the issues raised
here.
Sincerely,
Omoyele Sowore
For Saharareporters.com
ago, claiming that the office of the 1st Lady
obtained import waiver to import 200 BMW cars
for her “Africa First Ladies” summit in 2012. The
ministry of Finance says the report is false.
Saharareporters insists it's true & has responded.
Find a statement from the ministry of finance
below and SR's response after the cut...
Saharareporter's story on waiver granted
office of the First Lady is a complete
distortion
The story by Saharareporters on the so-
called waivers scandal in which the
notorious news website made outrageous
allegations against the Office of the First
Lady is a false exclusive based on distorted
information.
The website merely extracted and distorted
information on the list of beneficiaries of the
revised waivers policy which the Federal
Ministry of Finance voluntarily published as
part of its drive for transparency and
accountability. Continue...
The revised waivers policy replaces the old
regime of individual waivers with the objective of
boosting key sectors such as agriculture, power,
gas and mines/steel. The strategy is to deploy
waivers as a stronger tool of economic
development.
Part of the information published by the Federal
Ministry of Finance was a list of state
governments, private sector organizations and
other institutions which were granted waivers to
bring in vehicles for various events including
sports festivals, conferences and workshops. This
practice did not begin with the Jonathan
administration.
Beneficiaries of the waivers for vehicle imports
include state governments such as Akwa Ibom,
Rivers and Lagos as well as organizations such as
the continental First Ladies Forum which was
granted a waiver for vehicles required for their
event hosted by Nigeria. The First Lady did not in
any way personally benefit from this waiver.
It is important to recall the fact that the country
has a nascent leasing industry and no company in
the sector currently has the quantity and quality of
vehicles required for such events. Government is
encouraging private sector organizations with the
requisite focus and expertise in this area and the
hope is that soon it would no longer be necessary
to grant such waivers.
The resort to falsehood by Saharareporters based
on a distortion of information voluntarily made
available by government underscores the
desperation of this scurrilous medium and its
paymasters.
Paul C Nwabuikwu
Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the
Economy and Minister of Finance.
The Truth about the Federal Government of
Nigeria’s Waiver Policy
1. You may recall that the
Punch Newspaper published editorials accusing
the government and the Federal Ministry of
Finance of running a corrupt waiver policy, and
challenged the Federal Ministry of Finance to
publish those waivers. (http://bit.ly/1jCH3j4 )
2. The Federal Ministry of Finance categorically
refutes the allegation that it is running a corrupt
waiver policy.
3. Two years ago the Executive introduced a
total reform of the waiver policy. Waivers are now
only granted on a sectoral basis. This means that
every company in the sector enjoys the same
waiver privileges. All companies or entities
involved in a sector or given activity will benefit
from the same waivers once they meet the
necessary criteria.
4. The Federal Ministry of Finance published an
abbreviated version of the full waiver report in
several newspapers. It was also announced that
the full version is available at
www.budgetoffice.gov.ng and on social media
(http://on.fb.me/1fWHYG5 ).
5. The SaharaReporters claim that the Federal
Ministry of Finance surreptitiously released an
updated waiver list on the web only on December
22nd, 2013 is categorically false. In the spirit of
transparency, the full waiver list was made public
on December 3 rd
6. For the avoidance of doubt: the Federal
Ministry of Finance has never denied issuing
waivers to African First Ladies Forum conference.
This official event for First Ladies of all the other
African countries necessitated vehicles for the
transport of these visiting dignitaries. The waiver
granted for this occasion is similar to other
waivers issued to various state governments and
government institutions such as Rivers, Lagos,
and Akwa Ibom for similar official sporting and
conference events.
7. As always The Federal Ministry of Finance
welcomes all legitimate inquiries and criticisms.
The Ministry of Finance cannot be expected to
remain silent when falsification and distortion of
facts occurs.
Paul C Nwabuikwu
Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the
Economy and Minister of Finance.
Sahara Reporters Response below...
By Omoyele Sowore
Dear Minister Of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala : It
has come to our attention that your Special
Assistant on Media, Paul Nwabuikwu, is circulating
a press statement to a select group of news
outlets and bloggers describing as false a report
by SaharaReporters about import waivers obtained
by Mrs. Patience Jonathan’s office to import 200
BMW cars for her “Africa First Ladies” summit in
2012.
While your aide’s statement did not dispute the
existence of waivers that were ultimately granted
to Coscharis Motors to import the cars, he went to
great lengths to accuse SaharaReporters of
distorting the information released by your office.
We are not in the least surprised that you would
authorize your aide’s misleading press release
aimed at casting aspersions on us. This
mendacious release is consistent with your style
of responding to legitimate questions about your
conduct as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance. You have
established a reputation for intolerance of
principled and accurate media reports once they
raise questions about your ministerial judgments
or reflect poorly on your performance.
You would recall that, on December 3rd, 2013, you
published a doctored list of beneficiaries of import
waivers in response to pressures mounted on
your office by Nigeria’s PUNCH newspaper.
Without question, you had hoped to bamboozle the
public with this incomplete list. However, we
refused to accept your list for publication, having
received information from officials who should
know that your list was distorted and incomplete,
indeed an attempt to hoodwink gullible reporters
and Nigerians. Yesterday, your office
surreptitiously released an updated list on the web.
It is this fuller list that revealed part of how the
First Lady has benefited significantly from the
questionable dispensation of import waivers to
politically connected individuals and firms. We duly
acknowledged our source.
The tone of your aide’s press statement makes it
clear that you had hoped that your updated list
would not become public knowledge. That explains
the harsh and predictable attack on our medium.
Since your statement claimed that Mrs. Jonathan
did not benefit from the imported BMWs, we urge
you to go a step further: produce the list of
beneficiaries and providing the chasses numbers
of the BMWs imported under the questionable
waivers you granted to Coscharis Motors in 2012.
In addition, we challenge you to provide evidence
that Coscharis Motors imported the vehicles for
which the waivers were granted.
You should also do the Nigerian public the great
service of explaining why presidential spokesman,
Reuben Abati, claimed that the Federal
Government had not contributed a dime to the
importation of the BMWs, when your office had
indeed granted waivers worth N560 million to the
controversial auto dealer.
Since you claimed that your latest release was
driven by your desire to ensure transparency, we
await a detailed response to the issues raised
here.
Sincerely,
Omoyele Sowore
For Saharareporters.com
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