Minister’s departure spawns fears that anti-graft fight waning

When Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala quit the government last week few believed that the pressing family matters she cited were genuinely behind her departure. There had been signs lately that President Olusegun Obasanjo was growing weary of the presence in his government of the woman who had come to represent his economic reforms and anti-corruption drive. The first signal came in June when Okonjo-Iweala was abruptly moved from the Finance to the Foreign Ministry, just weeks after she had successfully negotiatied the cancellation of Nigeria’s US $30 billion debt to the Paris Club of international creditors. Officials sought to deflect fears that the government's economic reform plan had suffered a blow. They pointed out that Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank vice president, remained the head of the government’s economic team. But while on an official trip to Britain last week, Obasanjo suddenly relieved her of that position. Okonjo-Iweala resigned from the Foreign Ministry the next day. “I think it was the most honourable thing for her to do,” said Farouk Bello, an opposition senator and critic of the government. “Removing her would mean that the president has lost confidence in her one way or the other.” Okonjo-Iweala led negotiations that resulted in Africa’s biggest debt write-off of US $18 billion, with Nigeria paying the remaining US $12 billion to eliminate a US $30 billion foreign debt burden. She initiated reforms which saved Nigeria $500 million by forcing the renegotiation of contracts that had already been awarded. Okonjo-Iweala also gave the government’s policy of transparency meaning by regularly publishing details of government revenue, including financial allocations made to all tiers of government. To structure and impose discipline on government spending, she introduced the fiscal responsibility bill - yet to be passed by parliament - that would legally restrict public expenditure to measurable indices. With such a track record in the Finance Ministry and much still left to be done, Nigerians were surpised to learn of Okonjo-Iweala’s redeployment to the Foreign Ministry. Within weeks of taking over her new position, Okonjo-Iweala told a senate committee that corruption was a major problem at the Foreign Ministry, citing a recent case where officials there paid US $4.6 million for an invoice of US$22,000 for membership in an international organisation. The disclosure was apparently a source of embarrassment for the government. A statement issued afterwards by the presidency said her comments had given the erroneous impression that her predecessor, Olu Adeniji, had covered up the alleged fraud. With Okonjo-Iweala's departure, the government has sought to dispel fears that its resolve to fight corruption and reform the economy has weakened. “Okonjo-Iweala’s exit is regrettable because she made major contributions to the reform process,” said Osita Ogbu, chief economic adviser to Obasanjo. “It is also important to remember that she was working in a team. That team is still intact. The team will continue to insist on those things that we have already agreed upon.” dm/cs