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.
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