Below is what the Finance minister said while addressing
journalists in Abuja yesterday regarding her 83 year old mother's abduction and
subsequent release...
“I can’t give all the details because we don’t want to compromise
ongoing investigations. But I can tell you one thing: my mother suffered a
great deal during this ordeal. It was only the Almighty that rescued her from a
situation that could very easily have ended tragically. Apart from the
emotional trauma of being violently taken away from her family and kept
incommunicado for five days in a strange environment, a woman of 83 years was
left without food for five days.
“While she was in their
custody, the kidnappers spent much of the time harassing her. They told her
that I must get on the radio and television and announce my resignation.
When she asked why, they told her it was because I did not pay oil subsidy
money.
“They also said I had blocked payment of money
to certain components of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme.”
“These statements are,
of course, not true. In the case of subsidy payments, we have been paying all
marketers whose claims have been verified by the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee after
going through the necessary processes.
“For marketers whose transactions are proven to be fraudulent, the
position of the Goodluck Jonathan government is also clear: we cannot and we
will not pay. We will not back down on this. We will continue to stand firm.”
“In the case of SURE-P, there is a totally different process that I have no control over. This is the right thing to do. And this, I believe is what the Nigerian people want.”
“This experience has strengthened my faith in the country. The
outpouring of love from all over the country has been simply overwhelming.”
so sad
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