The Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged the Federal Government to explain how $5 billion from the nation’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) allegedly vanished with nothing to show for it.
The faction, which prides itself as the ‘New PDP’, said it was throwing the challenge at the FG following a careful study of the revelation made by the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Rotimi Amaechi, while declaring open the second annual retreat of the NGF on Friday in Sokoto.
Gov. Amaechi had alleged that the ECA which stood at $9 billion last January had suddenly been depleted to only $4 billion as at today in rather mysterious circumstances.
“The Excess Crude Account in January was N9billion. That account belongs to the federal, states and local governments. Today it is N4billion. We don’t know who took the N5billion.
“Nigerians need to ask where the money has gone and why their money is being used as private funds”, the NGF chairman was quoted as saying.
In a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Chukwuemeka Eze on Sunday, the nPDP said it considered the development “too weighty to be swept under the carpet in view of the stature of the person making the allegation and the realities on ground.
“We told Nigerians about the poor handling of our common patrimony by this administration and sadly nobody took seriously as today, the unmistakable evidence is that Nigeria is broke as the Federal Government now finds it difficult to meet its obligations to states, local governments and contractors.
“We wish to commend the NGF Chairman for bringing this matter to the open and hereby challenge the Federal Government to come to tell Nigerians what it did with the money. We also hereby challenge the anti-graft agencies to prove their relevance by unearthing the whereabouts of this huge sum of money.”
The nPDP also threw its weight behind the call for transparency in the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the need to develop a National Security Framework for the country.
“That this administration is running for a price award as the most corrupt administration in the annals of governance in Nigeria is not in doubt but we urge Nigerians to heed the advice of the NGF and stop being docile in the face of monumental impunity in the country. This, in reality, is the only way to rescue Nigeria from the path of doom,” the party said.
-Daily Trust
The going has turned bad and dirty linen are being washed outside. When they did not quarrel nobody knew about $5b
New pdp my yanch bunch of fools & liars.
D main thing is dat money is missing and in a fair system they need to explain.
Gov Amaechi, where is the $10m you used to buy a fake Bombardier?