The breakaway faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, has challenged the federal government to account for the $5 billion, which is said to have disappeared from the nation’s Excess Crude Account (ECA).

Speaking at the second annual retreat of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on November 15, in Sokoto, governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, had said the ECA stood at $9 billion last January but had shrunk to only $4 billion as at today.

According to a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of PDP faction, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said in a statement yesterday, “We consider this 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. For all intents and purposes, Governor Amaechi is not a frivolous person and is not known for making frivolous claims.

“We told Nigerians about the poor handling of our common patrimony by this administration and sadly nobody took us 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.”

Commending the NGF chairman for bringing the matter to the open, the PDP faction challenged the federal government to come to the open and tell Nigerians what it did with the money, saying, “We also hereby challenge the anti-graft agencies to prove their relevance by unearthing the whereabouts of this huge sum of money.”

“This administration is running for a price award as the most corrupt administration in the annals of governance in Nigeria,” the faction said, urging Nigerians to heed the advice of the NGF and stop being docile in the face of monumental impunity in the country.