No longer Buisness as Usual! Buhari Talks Tough, Vows to Recover Billions of Dollars Stolen by Past Officials.
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja assured state
governors that the days of impunity, lack of accountability, and fiscal
recklessness in the management of national resources are over in
Nigeria.
Speaking at a meeting with the
governors in the Presidential Villa, Mr. Buhari also vowed thatfunds stolen
by government officials who abused their offices in the recent past will be
recovered and systemic leakages stopped.
“There are financial and
administrative instructions in every government parastatal and agency. But all
these were thrown to the dogs in the past,” the Special Adviser to the Media
and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President as saying. “Honestly, our
problems are great, but we will do our best to surmount them.
“The next three months may be hard,
but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best, ”
the President told the governors.”
Expressing surprise that the
governors had tolerated the atrocities allegedly committed with the Excess
Crude Account since 2011, President Buhari promised to tackle the
issue decisively.
The President declared that the payment of
national revenue into any account other than the Federation Account was an
abuse of the constitution, adding that what he had heard was going on in many
agencies and corporations, particularly the NNPC, was clearly illegal.
On the refund of monies spent on
federal projects by state governments, President Buhari assured the governors
that the Federal Government will pay, but insisted that due process must be
followed.
The President promised special
assistance for the three North Eastern states badly affected by the Boko Haram
insurgency.
He also said that a comprehensive
statement on the economic and financial situation inherited by his
administration will be made to the nation within the next four weeks.
“We will try and put the system back
into the right position. What happened in the 2nd Republic has apparently
happened again, and even worse, but we will restore sanity to the system,”
President Buhari assured the Governors.
On an immediate lifeline for states
that owe salaries running into many months, President Buhari said a committee
headed by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will look at the Excess Crude Account
and see what can be shared immediately.
The governors, led by Chairman of the
Governors Forum, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, had presented a wish list to
the President that included:
1) Obedience of extant Supreme Court
ruling that all monies go into the Consolidated Federation Account;
2) An order from the President that
all revenue generating agencies must pay into the Consolidated Federation
Account;
3) Review of the Revenue Allocation
Formula;
4) Refund of the monies expended by
states on federal projects;
5) A special consideration for the
three states of the North East under Boko Haram infestation;
6) Full details of the amounts that
accrued into the Excess Crude Account from 2011, and how the money miraculously
shrank without official sharing.
Via - Premium Times
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