[size=13pt]Fuel subsidy: Govs to drag FG to S-Court[/size]


By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — THE 36 state governors under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, are poised for legal battle with the Federal Government.

The governors during a meeting at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja have concluded arrangements to drag the Federal Government to the Supreme Court over deductions from the federation account.

Also, yesterday, the governors, as part of moves to address the security challenge in the country, resolved to set up an Economic and Security Intervention Committee with governors of Rivers, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Abia, Plateau, Adamawa and Zamfara states as members, just as the committee will meet with President Goodluck Jonathan on an emergency economic intervention plan focusing initially on agriculture and other economic regeneration programmes for employment generation in the Northern states.

Reading the communique at the end of the meeting, Rivers State Governor and Chairman of the forum, Rotimi Amaechi, said the governors, however, condemned the recurring insecurity in the country, even as the governors sympathised with the governor and people of Plateau State over the recent loss of lives and property and called for urgent recruitment, training and equipping security agents across the country.

According to a source at the meeting, the governors are not comfortable with what they described as over deductions by the Federal Government to fund the fuel subsidy.

The governors, the source said, are approaching the apex court for final explanation on the formula for withdrawal from their account.

The Federal Government in this year’s budget earmarked N880 billion to finance fuel subsidy, but after seven months, the said amount has been exhausted.

The governors are also arguing that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is not transparent in the remittance of its account because the corporation ought to operate a zero account by remitting what it gets into the federation account.

The governors will also at the Supreme Court address other areas of conflict between the states and the Federal Government.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/07/fuel-subsidy-govs-to-drag-fg-to-s-court/

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