FLASHBACK: How my mother was kidnapped because I pushed for fuel subsidy removal in 2012 - Okonjo-Iweala

An old video of former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala narrating how her 83-year-old mother was kidnapped because she advised Goodluck Jonathan, former president to remove fuel subsidy has emerged.

The video emerged on social media after President Tinubu announced the removal of the subsidy in his inaugural speech on Monday, May 29 after he was sworn-in as president.

Speaking to graduating students of Columbia University, part of her statement reads: "The kidnappers while negotiating with my brother demanded my resignation publicly. They also said I should go on television and announce my resignation and depart from the country as a condition for my mother's release."

She buttressed the same point in an interview on with Le Monde, where the 61-year-old economist said the fight against corruption was at the root of the kidnap, with the abductors demanding her resignation on live television.

When asked what her failures and successes in the fight against corruption were, Okonjo-Iweala said: “Your answer would take a whole day.

“On my first experience as minister, I wrote a book, Reforming the Unreformable (ed. The MIT Press, 2012). For the second, it was really difficult. Nigeria subsidizes fuel. About $ 6.7 billion that it costs, we found that 1.5 billion was fraudulent.

“One importer claimed that his boat was waging its oil while at the other end of the world, according to maritime classification society Lloyd’s Register Marine.

“I told the president that we would stop paying. What happened? They kidnapped my mother, 83 years. During the first three days, their only demand was my resignation. I was supposed to go on television and announce my resignation.

“This was one of the worst moments of my life. Can you imagine what happens in your head if you have to be responsible for the death of your mother?

“I will not go into details, but you must understand that in a country like this… in the fight against corruption, we must be prepared to pay a personal price. My father asked me not to resign. The president asked me not to resign. At the end, everyone began looking for her, and the kidnappers released [her].”