By How IMF boss, Finance Minister were stopped from gaining Aso Rock entry
In a dramatic manner, the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala explained in her recently published book ‘Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous’, how the Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF), Madame Christine Lagarde, was embarrassed at the Presidential Villa gate in the last administration by an unnamed Presidential Aide.
BlackBox Nigeria gathered that by protocol, the IMF Director ought to be accorded a Head of State status by virtue of the organisation she heads and was scheduled to meet former President Goodluck Jonathan on December 20, 2011, but due to internal wrangling between the Minister of Finance and some aggrieved stakeholders who recent policies of government had affected negatively, the IMF Boss was barred from using the gate designated for Head of States.
Okonjo-Iweala narrated in her book that because she has been instrumental to stopping the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) from continuing a Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) policies which supposedly generate $6 million yearly for the Federal Government but no amount was remitted to the Treasury, vested interest whom the Presidential Aide is sympathetic too denied her access to the Presidential Villa and also the IMF Boss when she accompanied her to see former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In her words, she said, “when the motorarcade reached this gate, It was denied entry. Embarrassed, I tried to find out from the security guards what was going on. They said they had no instruction for her to use that gate, and that we should proceed to the entrance reserved for state governors, certain designated ministers, a d other dignitaries… when we got there, we were again denied entry. ”
Okonjo-Iweala in the book said the IMF Boss had to park outside the Villa to use the regular entrance used by everyone and walk for about five minutes down the Villa corridors to get to the President’s meeting room. According to her, “such treatment of a dignitary at the level of Head of State was unheard of! “.
