Sources within the Nigerian government, law enforcement and civil society disputed GAVI’s claims that part of the vaccination funds was misused. The groups also questioned the propriety of Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s authorization of a refund to GAVI especially as the reconciliation done by several statutory agencies found that GAVI’s fund was not mismanaged in anyway.

---

he announcement by Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of her two international posts with Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) and Lazard Group LLC has raised conflict of interest concerns. A day ago, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that she GAVI had appointed her a board member while the Lazard Group, an assets management firm, hired her as a “senior advisor.”







Ex-Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala



In her long career as Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s actions and policies had financially benefited the two multinational entities that have engaged her, our investigations discovered.

On July 27th, 2015 SaharaReporters broke the news that the Ministry of Health had questioned the propriety and authority of Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s decision to remit $2.2 million to GAVI, a major non-governmental organization. The Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) had completed a Cash Program Audit (CPA) in 2014, and accused the Ministry of Health and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) of misusing $2.2 million meant for vaccinations in Nigeria between 2011 and 2013.

A press statement by GAVI, released on July 30th 2015, stated, “it was agreed in principle by the Minister [of Health] to repay any funds identified as having been misused.” The statement continued: “The CPA [Cash Program Audit] determined that US$2.2 million had been misused.”

GAVI finally disclosed that, pursuant to the agreement between them and the Nigerian government, the multinational organization “has since been fully reimbursed.”

But an independent investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) suggested that Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s authorization of payment of $ 2.2 million to GAVI was hastily done, and against the protest of Nigeria’s Ministry of Health.

Sources within the Nigerian government, law enforcement and civil society disputed GAVI’s claims that part of the vaccination funds was misused. The groups also questioned the propriety of Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s authorization of a refund to GAVI especially as the reconciliation done by several statutory agencies found that GAVI’s fund was not mismanaged in anyway.

The Federal Ministry of Health was so mystified by the refund that its permanent secretary, L.N. Awute, wrote a letter to the EFCC asking for an investigation. Dated July 15, 2015, the permanent secretary’s letter stated it was “surprising to note that the payment of the disputed USD 2.2 million was made to GAVI by the Federal Ministry of Finance” under the leadership of Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala without consultation with the Health Ministry.

Mr. Awute further informed the EFCC that the Health Ministry “drew the attention of the then Coordinating Minister for the Economy [Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala] on the necessity for a reconciliatory process to address the discrepancies in the GAVI audit report. However, we are yet to receive any response to our letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance.”

The permanent secretary wrote that the ministry learned of “conflicting information and discrepancies” between their investigation and the GAVI audit, prompting the ministry’s appeal to the EFCC to scrutinize all the findings.

An anti-corruption group, the Civil Society Coalition Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), said it became interested in the matter after learning of GAVI’s allegation that Nigerian officials misused vaccination funds.

However, a source at CSNAC told SaharaReporters that their independent investigation of the missing $2.2 million found no evidence to support GAVI’s claims of misuse.

Our CSNAC source said his group contacted the EFCC, the Corporate Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Health, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. “All of these groups indicated that they were not aware that Nigerian officials violated any rules in the disbursement of the vaccination funds. Nor did they find that any funds were misappropriated or misused,” the source said.

The EFCC’s report, obtained by SaharaReporters, stated that their investigators had not established any “case of fraud, diversion of funds, or other crimes in relation to the [GAVI] project.” The EFCC report added that their investigation “confirmed that [the] National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) paid all due taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The NPHCDA also paid required funds to UNICEF in 2012,” contrary to GAVI’s allegations.

According to the EFCC, “all contracts under the [GAVI] project were duly executed” and “the findings from the initial [GAVI] audit report [were] based on unfounded suspicion of fraud.”

Our CSNAC source described GAVI’s audit as “troubled.” He added that the NPHCDA and the Health Ministry blamed “misleading assumptions and non-transparent actions by the [GAVI] CPA team” for the wholly inaccurate audit. CSNAC’s investigation also found that “there was a significant downward revision of the ‘unaccounted sum’ of $8.2 million in CPA’s initial report to $2.2 million in the final report.” This discrepancy underscored the broader problems and concerns over the GAVI audit, the source said.

CSNAC’s independent investigation also debunked GAVI’s allegation that the Federal Ministry of Health and NPHCDA had not supplied the required incinerators. CSNAC’s investigation found that the majority of incinerators were provided at the required locations.

CSNAC concluded that the Nigerian government “has refuted GAVI’s claims and provided documentary and other evidence which contradict GAVI’s claims.” CSNAC contacted GAVI’s representatives in Nigeria to discuss their findings in greater depth, but GAVI demurred, claiming that they were “not in a position to share with information related to the audit beyond what is published.”

CSNAC described GAVI’s attitude as inconsistent with international best practices. It particularly condemned “GAVI’s adamant and uncooperative posture.”

Ex-Minister Okonjo-Iweala’s election to GAVI’s board has raised deep suspicions, considering her role in authorizing the questionable refund of $2.2 million to the group less than one year ago.

Lazard Group’s hiring of the 61-year-old Okonjo-Iweala has also raised equally significant conflict of interest issues. Neither the firm nor Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that Lazard has a subsidiary known as Lazard Frères, a French investment bank that was hired by the Nigerian government as a consultant in the controversial loan forgiveness negotiations that culminated in Nigeria’s payment of close to $20 billion in loan repayments to the Paris Club in 2005. Lazard, which had ties to the Paris Club secretariat, was paid $100,000 monthly for the duration of the loan repayment negotiations, according to sources in the Nigerian government knowledgeable about the deal.

While Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala celebrates her new appointments, she faces serious questions about her management of the Nigerian economy during two Presidencies marked by the theft of billions of dollars from the Nigerian treasury. Besides, even though Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala had trumpeted the Paris Club debt deal as a signal achievement of her ministerial tenure during the Presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, she oversaw Nigeria’s descent into another era of strangulating debt during her ministerial stint under President Goodluck Jonathan.

“The most important question now, with Okonjo-Iweala’s recent appointments, is whether she traded Nigeria’s economic interests to secure these positions,” said a civic society source.

SaharaReporters contacted representatives from GAVI about these findings and whether they had any connection to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s election, but the representative refused to answer any questions by phone. GAVI prompted SaharaReporters to submit questions by email but they remained unanswered at the time of publication. GAVI is closely connected to the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

A SaharaReporters correspondent also contacted representatives from Lazard about conflicts of interest related to their dealings with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during the 2005 debt negotiations and her appointment as senior adviser, however our calls were not immediately returned.














http://saharareporters.com/2015/09/22/former-finance-minister-okonjo-iweala%E2%80%99s-latest-jobs-raise-concerns-over-abuse-office-and

free2ryhme:


Sources within the Nigerian government, law enforcement and civil society disputed GAVI’s claims that part of the vaccination funds was misused. The groups also questioned the propriety of Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s authorization of a refund to GAVI especially as the reconciliation done by several statutory agencies found that GAVI’s fund was not mismanaged in anyway.

---

he announcement by Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of her two international posts with Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) and Lazard Group LLC has raised conflict of interest concerns. A day ago, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that she GAVI had appointed her a board member while the Lazard Group, an assets management firm, hired her as a “senior advisor.”







Ex-Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala



In her long career as Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s actions and policies had financially benefited the two multinational entities that have engaged her, our investigations discovered.

On July 27th, 2015 SaharaReporters broke the news that the Ministry of Health had questioned the propriety and authority of Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s decision to remit $2.2 million to GAVI, a major non-governmental organization. The Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) had completed a Cash Program Audit (CPA) in 2014, and accused the Ministry of Health and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) of misusing $2.2 million meant for vaccinations in Nigeria between 2011 and 2013.

A press statement by GAVI, released on July 30th 2015, stated, “it was agreed in principle by the Minister [of Health] to repay any funds identified as having been misused.” The statement continued: “The CPA [Cash Program Audit] determined that US$2.2 million had been misused.”

GAVI finally disclosed that, pursuant to the agreement between them and the Nigerian government, the multinational organization “has since been fully reimbursed.”

But an independent investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) suggested that Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s authorization of payment of $ 2.2 million to GAVI was hastily done, and against the protest of Nigeria’s Ministry of Health.

Sources within the Nigerian government, law enforcement and civil society disputed GAVI’s claims that part of the vaccination funds was misused. The groups also questioned the propriety of Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s authorization of a refund to GAVI especially as the reconciliation done by several statutory agencies found that GAVI’s fund was not mismanaged in anyway.

The Federal Ministry of Health was so mystified by the refund that its permanent secretary, L.N. Awute, wrote a letter to the EFCC asking for an investigation. Dated July 15, 2015, the permanent secretary’s letter stated it was “surprising to note that the payment of the disputed USD 2.2 million was made to GAVI by the Federal Ministry of Finance” under the leadership of Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala without consultation with the Health Ministry.

Mr. Awute further informed the EFCC that the Health Ministry “drew the attention of the then Coordinating Minister for the Economy [Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala] on the necessity for a reconciliatory process to address the discrepancies in the GAVI audit report. However, we are yet to receive any response to our letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance.”

The permanent secretary wrote that the ministry learned of “conflicting information and discrepancies” between their investigation and the GAVI audit, prompting the ministry’s appeal to the EFCC to scrutinize all the findings.

An anti-corruption group, the Civil Society Coalition Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), said it became interested in the matter after learning of GAVI’s allegation that Nigerian officials misused vaccination funds.

However, a source at CSNAC told SaharaReporters that their independent investigation of the missing $2.2 million found no evidence to support GAVI’s claims of misuse.

Our CSNAC source said his group contacted the EFCC, the Corporate Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Health, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. “All of these groups indicated that they were not aware that Nigerian officials violated any rules in the disbursement of the vaccination funds. Nor did they find that any funds were misappropriated or misused,” the source said.

The EFCC’s report, obtained by SaharaReporters, stated that their investigators had not established any “case of fraud, diversion of funds, or other crimes in relation to the [GAVI] project.” The EFCC report added that their investigation “confirmed that [the] National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) paid all due taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The NPHCDA also paid required funds to UNICEF in 2012,” contrary to GAVI’s allegations.

According to the EFCC, “all contracts under the [GAVI] project were duly executed” and “the findings from the initial [GAVI] audit report [were] based on unfounded suspicion of fraud.”

Our CSNAC source described GAVI’s audit as “troubled.” He added that the NPHCDA and the Health Ministry blamed “misleading assumptions and non-transparent actions by the [GAVI] CPA team” for the wholly inaccurate audit. CSNAC’s investigation also found that “there was a significant downward revision of the ‘unaccounted sum’ of $8.2 million in CPA’s initial report to $2.2 million in the final report.” This discrepancy underscored the broader problems and concerns over the GAVI audit, the source said.

CSNAC’s independent investigation also debunked GAVI’s allegation that the Federal Ministry of Health and NPHCDA had not supplied the required incinerators. CSNAC’s investigation found that the majority of incinerators were provided at the required locations.

CSNAC concluded that the Nigerian government “has refuted GAVI’s claims and provided documentary and other evidence which contradict GAVI’s claims.” CSNAC contacted GAVI’s representatives in Nigeria to discuss their findings in greater depth, but GAVI demurred, claiming that they were “not in a position to share with information related to the audit beyond what is published.”

CSNAC described GAVI’s attitude as inconsistent with international best practices. It particularly condemned “GAVI’s adamant and uncooperative posture.”

Ex-Minister Okonjo-Iweala’s election to GAVI’s board has raised deep suspicions, considering her role in authorizing the questionable refund of $2.2 million to the group less than one year ago.

Lazard Group’s hiring of the 61-year-old Okonjo-Iweala has also raised equally significant conflict of interest issues. Neither the firm nor Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that Lazard has a subsidiary known as Lazard Frères, a French investment bank that was hired by the Nigerian government as a consultant in the controversial loan forgiveness negotiations that culminated in Nigeria’s payment of close to $20 billion in loan repayments to the Paris Club in 2005. Lazard, which had ties to the Paris Club secretariat, was paid $100,000 monthly for the duration of the loan repayment negotiations, according to sources in the Nigerian government knowledgeable about the deal.

While Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala celebrates her new appointments, she faces serious questions about her management of the Nigerian economy during two Presidencies marked by the theft of billions of dollars from the Nigerian treasury. Besides, even though Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala had trumpeted the Paris Club debt deal as a signal achievement of her ministerial tenure during the Presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, she oversaw Nigeria’s descent into another era of strangulating debt during her ministerial stint under President Goodluck Jonathan.

“The most important question now, with Okonjo-Iweala’s recent appointments, is whether she traded Nigeria’s economic interests to secure these positions,” said a civic society source.

SaharaReporters contacted representatives from GAVI about these findings and whether they had any connection to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s election, but the representative refused to answer any questions by phone. GAVI prompted SaharaReporters to submit questions by email but they remained unanswered at the time of publication. GAVI is closely connected to the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

A SaharaReporters correspondent also contacted representatives from Lazard about conflicts of interest related to their dealings with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during the 2005 debt negotiations and her appointment as senior adviser, however our calls were not immediately returned.














http://saharareporters.com/2015/09/22/former-finance-minister-okonjo-iweala%E2%80%99s-latest-jobs-raise-concerns-over-abuse-office-and

Do not let anyone fool you!

Former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala got her well touted latest appointments from two international entities that had benefited generously from doing business with her in Nigeria. Lazard Freres was the company @NOIweala hired as a consultant for Nigeria's debt negotiation in 2005 while she was former President Obasanjo's minister of finance, Lazard got paid $100,000 per month throughout the negotiations and some have said it was the reason Obasanjo gave her a boot.

As per GAVi, weeks before she left office in May 2015 she also paid GAVI $2.2m in questionable refunds that the Federal Ministry of Health, EFCC and some NGOs claim were dubious.

.

Mtchewww.The second I saw sharir reporters I knew it was filled with bad bellesim and 1/4 truth

This woman is only a devil sent froth from the pit of hell to shatter the dreams of well meaning Nigerians. All gratitude and adoration be to the All mighty for kicking her and the clueless one out before they setting the whole country ablaze.

Ezenwammadu:
Mtchewww

you go hiss tire

Bad belle people dey everywhere...in fact this one pass witchcraft.

Leave the woman alone...she is no longer a Minister of the Federal Republic. Whatever she does with her life is her business and none of our business.

Sahara reporters are kinda funny.
I mean they actually believe their paid articles can touch iweala where she is now.
They probably wish she was still a minister so they can publish more rubbish.

CSTR2:
Sahara reporters are kinda funny.
I mean they actually believe their paid articles can touch iweala where she is now.
They probably wish she was still a minister so they can publish more rubbish.

So, at least we know the truth... And I don't see reasons why any sane human would speak to support her. Well after all its a forum... Open to all-both human and dimwitted animals.

handsomeclouds:
So, at least we know the truth... And I don't see reasons why any sane human would speak to support her. Well after all its a forum... Open to all-both human and dimwitted animals.

You must be very retardded if you think sahara reporters will tell you the truth without a paid agenda.
The same sahara reporters that have been shown to be nothing more than a hungry news outfit being pulled by puppets, more times than i can count.
When i see the truth i will know.

THE WORLD DOES NOT CARE WHAT M0RONS LIKE YOU THINK BECAUSE THEY LOOK AT PERSONALITY AND THINGS OBJECTIVELY UNLIKE YOU COCONUT HEADS WHO LOOK AT THINGS WITH SENTIMENTS AND BIGOTRY.

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA IS A GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED ECONOMIST OF INTERNATIONAL REPUTE. UNDER HER WATCH, NIGERIA BECAME AFRICA'S BIGGEST ECONOMY, 5 FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE WORLD, ESTABLISHED THE SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND, ESTABLISHED THE TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT (WHICH BUHARI IS ATTEMPTING TO CLAIM), ESTABLISHED THE INFRASTRUCTURAL BANK, CREATED THE INTERGRATED PAYROLL SYSTEM THAT REDUCED THE NUMBERS OF GHOST WORKERS, INCREASED ALLOCATION TO THE STATES VIA SUBSIDY E.T.C

The world sees these impeccable achievements and her performance and appraised her based on that. NO BODY CARES WHAT SIMPLETONS LIKE YOU AND OTHER BIGOTS THINKS BECAUSE YOUR STATEMENTS ARE USELESS.

CSTR2:
You must be very retardded if you think sahara reporters will tell you the truth without a paid agenda.
The same sahara reporters that have been shown to be nothing more than a hungry news outfit being pulled by puppets, more times than i can count.
When i see the truth i will know.

you are a stvpid old blind fool.. Even with evidences right in front of you, you still choose to be selectively biased. You are a lost soul if you have nothing to believe in.

handsomeclouds:
you are stupid old blind fool.. Even with evidences right in front of you, you still choose to be selectively biased. You are a lost soul if you have nothing to believe in.

Go and arrest her with your ''evidence'' na.
ode.

Tell Mumu-hammadu to prosecute Ngozi Iweala, Bill and Melinda Gates if he is not happy with Ngozi's new appointment.

JEALOUSY!!!!!

RareDiamond:
THE WORLD DOES NOT CARE WHAT M0RONS LIKE YOU THINK BECAUSE THE LOOK AT PERSONALITY AND THINGS OBJECTIVELY UNLIKE YOU COCONUT HEADS WHO LOOK AT THINGS WITH SENTIMENTS AND BIGOTRY.

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA IS A GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED ECONOMIST OF INTERNATIONAL REPUTE. UNDER HER WATCH, NIGERIA BECAME AFRICA'S BIGGEST ECONOMY, 5 FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE WORLD, ESTABLISHED THE SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND, ESTABLISHED THE TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT (WHICH BUHARI IS ATTEMPTING TO CLAIM), ESTABLISHED THE INFRASTRUCTURAL BANK, CREATED THE INTERGRATED PAYROLL SYSTEM THAT REDUCED THE NUMBERS OF GHOST WORKERS, INCREASED ALLOCATION TO THE STATES VIA SUBSIDY E.T.C

The world sees these impeccable achievements and her performance and appraised her based on that. NO BODY CARES WHAT SIMPLETONS LIKE YOU AND OTHER BIGOTS THINKS.

That is why people like her can be used to fleece our country's resources. Did you wonder why with her impeccable records Obasanjo booted her out his govt

Ezenwammadu:
Mtchewww.

your mouth never pain you finish, e just dey start

MisterLongman:
So many defendants and prosecutors on this thread

Honestly.

These people won't leave this woman alone...She's no longer the finance minister, God has crowned her even after the witch hunting and name killing.

Who God has blessed..No one should Curse!!!




F#ck Haters n Sahara Reporters...Jealousy is a vice!

Go and Read the book 'Economic Hitmen' for proper perspective.

Sai Buhari...

- when were these positions advertised?
- when did she travel out of the country for interviews or selection process?
- if there were infractions, then let the law take its place...

Please when will Femi Falana, SAN commence work as Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Federal Republic of Nigeria...

These are issues that needs to be put on the front-burner

let them go to court..

Sighs!

Everything connected to jonathan must have a stain on it

bad belle people.

Leave all these people. they have already made their money.

Learn how to generate leads for your business through this - 4 Tested and Proven Ways to Generate Leads For Your Company

https://www.nairaland.com/2619593/4-tested-proven-ways-generate

Meaning

bad belly everywhere

there is no bad belle here


I hope you know that Buhari administration has not spent such a long time as to significantly alter the course charted by Ngozi Okonjo Iwela's expertise in the management of Nigeria's economy, would you say today that she performed so well that things got turned around in about 3 months of her leaving office? under Obasanjo, Crude oil dropped from a two weeks high of $140 to $35 pbd yet the man was able to leave 45 billion in forex account with $23 billion in excess crude,all this was with production below 1 million a day at the height of Niger delta insurgency when people like you and Wahala were actively engaged in stealing of crude oil and destruction of pipelines with kidnapping of workers, this was why the first assignment of president Yar'adua was amnesty so that production could go up, if such amount could be realized under the very corrupt Olu Obasanjo, how then do we explain the calamity witnessed under Okonjo Iweala and Jonathan?

B

Hmmm... watching in 4D.

I always appreciate hardworking guys, but what I have for hardworking girls is over the top bend-over-backward Love!!! This is why I encourage the girl in the pics below me. Talking about core support for women empowerment.

G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-IS94A5_uQ