BUHARI VOWS TO RECOVER BILLIONS OF DOLLARS STOLEN BY PRESIDENT JONATHAN AND HIS MINISTERS IN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS
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, President Buhari also vowed that funds
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. 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 that a committee
headed by the Vice President, Professor 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:
Ø Obedience of extant Supreme Court
ruling that all monies go into the Consolidated Federation Account;
Ø An order from the President that
all revenue generating agencies must pay into the Consolidated Federation
Account;
Ø Review of the Revenue Allocation
Formula;
Ø Refund of the monies expended by
states on federal projects;
Ø A special consideration for the
three states of the North East under Boko Haram infestation;
Ø Full
details of the amounts that accrued into the Excess Crude Account from 2011,
and how the money miraculously shrank without official sharing.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media
and Publicity)
June 23, 2015
June 23, 2015
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