The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has condemned what she described as a frivolous suit by SIAO Partners, a group of three accounting firms, filed against her before a Lagos High Court.

“The Minister is yet to be formally notified of the suit but from information gleaned from media reports, the group is alleging that she appointed the global audit firm Price WaterHouse Coopers (PWC) to conduct the recently concluded forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) against the provisions of the Local Content Act,” her Special Adviser Paul C Nwabuikwu said yesterday in a statement in Abuja.

“The CME,” according to Nwabuikwu, “is astonished by the news of the said court action which is spurious in the extreme. It is shocking that professionals of the calibre of the SIAO Partners can embark on this kind of legal action without taking the trouble to do the minimum amount of homework to confirm basic facts.

“Dr Okonjo-Iweala did not appoint the PWC to carry out the audit.

“The SIAO Partners should immediately drop this totally baseless suit or she will see them in court.”

•Photo shows Okonjo-Iweala.