₦airaland Forum

Oshiomole giving Okonjo-Iweala nightmare since 1960

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has accused a former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of illegally withdrawing $1 billion from the federation account to prosecute the re-election bid of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Speaking at a Seminar organized by the Edo state government for Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors entitled “enhancing IGR in Edo, issues, prospects and challenges”, the governor said the former minister also needs to tell Nigerians how the Excess Crude Account was drawn down to $4.1 billion from the peak of $10 billion when no approval was given by the National Economic Council for any withdrawals.
The governor who said Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala would have been declared a pathological liar if she were a witness in court due to the inconsistencies in her statements.
He said a forensic audit would truly determine how much was illegally spent from the federation account under her watch as Minister.
He said the state government would now hold Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors responsible for any fraud detected in their departments saying the government has trimmed down the cost of running government.
He said: “the truth is, many things went wrong even at the federal level. As you might have read in the papers, while the federal government, under Goodluck Jonathan, with the then Coordinating Minister of the Economy liked to blame “Governors” for wasteful spending, for not saving for the rainy day, for not investing properly, the truth is the real weakness in the Nigerian federal chain has been the Federal Government.
“Our hope is that with the new President, given his pedigree, we will break from the past.
“As I’m sure you will soon begin to hear when all the numbers are published, last week, I complained aloud that Edo State lost about N10 billion over a four year period from only one source: the NLNG remittance to the federation account.
“How did I arrive at the figure? I used my 4-Figure Table and I asked myself at $2.1 billion remitted by NLNG as taxes and Shell, and by the way, Shell is not the only oil operative, we have Chevron and several others. They shared the $2.1 billion based on the revenue allocation formula, Edo State got about N2.27 billion. So I said, thank God this money came after the departure of Okonjo-Iweala and President Jonathan. If the PDP were still in charge in Abuja, this money would have been taken.
“That is not the only money Edo State Government has lost. You have heard of the last instalment of $4.1 billion that was in the Excess Crude Account as of November, 2014, and from that time till today, we have not; when I say we, federal, states and local governments have not touched that money.
“We have not agreed to take anything out of it, and yet it has been drawn down to about $2 billion. Which means $2.1 billion disappeared. If you listened and followed the conversation, when I made this allegation after the National Economic Council meeting that the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister, Dr Okonjo-Iweala took $2.1 billion without approval and spent it in a manner that was never accounted for, she replied that I lied and said that it was the Commissioners and herself who agreed to distribute that money to the three tiers of government and that FAAC is the most visible expression of our true federalism. And that we shouldn’t claim that FAAC is unknown to us. That FAAC is a creation of law and so on and so forth.
“I’m going into this, because, as public servants, you need to understand not just the finances of Edo State but also the finances of Nigeria, particularly as they affect our state.
“Now the Commissioners of Finance met and they looked at themselves and they looked at Okonjo-Iweala and they submitted to Okonjo-Iweala that ‘madam, you lied, not Oshiomhole because in truth, we have no powers to decide withdrawals from the Excess Crude Account and that that power is vested in the State Governors at the level of the National Economic Council.’ But whether vested or not, we never, ever resolved to share money from that account.
“Now the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, confronted with these hard facts now shifted the argument that ‘oh no it is not FAAC that approved it, it was the former President Goodluck Jonathan that approved it.
“President Jonathan as far as the law of Nigeria is concerned, or any President, his approval is limited to funds of the federal government, not funds of the federation. Funds of the federation can only be approved by Governors and representative of the President as reflected in the composition of the National Economic Council, which is made up by Governors and chaired by the Vice President, with the CBN Governor and Minister of Finance and others as members. But there’s so much confusion now that Okonjo-Iweala can say one thing in the morning and tomorrow she will say I never said so. If she were a witness in a court of law, she would be declared a pathological liar whose evidence is of no value.
“So governments have lost a lot of money and the $2.1 billion, Edo State’s share of that, because that would have included derivation we would have made about N2.6 billion. That, we have lost now to Okonjo-Iweala.
“Now that she claimed she used it, between herself and the last President, they agreed to take the money to pay oil marketers. But if you talk to those oil marketers, they will tell you that within that period, they were paid $1 billion not $2.1 billion. So in truth, about $1 billion was taken for election purposes and Edo State’s share of that should have been about N4.6 billion from that $2.1 billion that Dr Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala, the former Minister of Finance illegally took from Excess Crude account.
“For clarity, that is not the only money they have so illegally taken. If you look at the total number at a point, the excess crude account peaked at $10 billion and we now heard it dropped to $4.1 billion. This means at some point, another $6 billion was taken. So we are hopeful that by the time we carry out some forensic analysis, we will be able to show clearly how much of the funds accruing to the three tiers of government were unilaterally and illegally spent by the Federal Government under the former Minister of Finance.”
The former finance minister could not be reached on Monday to comment on the allegations. Her spokesperson, Paul Nwabuikwu, did not respond to our calls.
On the seminar organized for top public servants to enhance the states IGR, Oshiomhole said: “the need for this workshop arose from reports, that virtually every week when we discuss at the level of the state executive council, issues that have to do with Internally Generated Revenue. The truth is; so much money could be paid by those who are supposed to pay, in most cases when this money is paid, in some cases, they never get to the treasury.
“Those responsible for diversion for running all these closed accounts, or pocketing or opening special accounts rather than the one known to Edo State Government or so authorized are by and large civil servants. And on few occasions, they also enlist some political appointees to be part of such rackets.
“We have over the period had cause to interrogate and fire some persons who were involved either in operating illegal accounts or undervaluing certain things that ought to have been properly valued so that correct taxes are paid the government.
“If government must continue to provide those basic needs of our people, somebody must pay for it. People have to pay taxes.
“Luckily, Edo is not owing workers’ salaries and we will do everything possible to ensure that the pay day is sacrosanct, because even the Bible says a labourer is entitled to his wages but we must understand that if we do not sustain and improve on where we are, with regards to Internally Generated Revenue, if the money is simply not available, something will have to give.
“We have trimmed down considerably as much as we can on the cost of running government. We have suspended overheads and allowances across the board from Governor’s office to Deputy Governor’s office to Secretary to State Government’s office, to Commissioners so that we can free resources to meet our salary obligation, but remember that the primary purpose of government is not just the payment of salaries. If all that government entails is to pay salaries as at when due, to be honest you do not need any other person except a fairly smart Clerk and a fairly honest Cashier.
“The primary purpose of government is to improve on the quality of lives of the people and provide basic economic and social infrastructure. To think that because we can pay salaries, all is well. All is not. I will not accept a situation where we are only able to pay salaries and nothing else.
“Henceforth, Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors will be held liable for any fraud detected in your department or section except if you are the one who raised the alarm. If a fraud is detected in your department by anyone outside yourself, we will assume that you are all a part of it.
“I need you all to understand that Nigeria, right now, is in serious financial crisis. If public servants pursue their duties the way they pursue their promotions, things will change.”

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/186604-okonjo-iweala-used-1bn-govt-money-for-jonathans-re-election-oshiomhole.html

OK

Next

OK

Evil... May God help us

themilanway:
I kept seeing NSC,can some one point out how and where exactly did Federal government intervened?

Some folks will die of high blood pressure at the mention of Buhari.

Is FG about only Buhari. NSC is d Sports Ministry which makes it included in FG

I knw my alma-mater ANSU must make d list. IMSU n UNILAG also deserves to b there. But where's UNIBEN?

This dint happen in Nigeria. I guess it occurred either in Europe or America

Nemesis caught up wiv him

He Shoot... Goal! Goal!! Goal!!! Goal!!! Goal!!!!! Those days

ARRANT NONSENSE

El Rufai's sons been trending from 1960

I don't know

Oliseh... 40yrs?? UNBELIEVABLE

OK na. let's wait n see

.

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Abuja expressed the hope that his forthcoming meeting with President Barack Obama will further strengthen bilateral ties between Nigeria and the USA.
At a meeting the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Anthony J. Blinken, President Buhari said that his talks with President Obama will also give a much needed impetus to his administration’s efforts to overcome the challenge of terrorism.
The President told Mr. Blinken that Nigeria also looks forward to greater support from the United States for the multinational Joint Task Force being mobilized against Boko Haram.
President Buhari said that Nigeria and other Gulf of Guinea nations will also welcome more cooperation from the United States to enhance maritime security in the Gulf and curb crude oil theft.
On behalf of President Obama, Mr. Blinken commiserated with President Buhari and all Nigerians over the recent loss of lives in terrorist attacks.
The Under Secretary of State said that he was convinced that President Buhari’s election will further expand the frontiers of the existing relationship between Nigeria and the United States.
He assured President Buhari that the United States government will be ready to discuss all matters put forward by the Nigerian government during the President’s visit to Washington DC.

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
July 8, 2015

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/186349-why-my-meeting-with-president-obama-is-important-buhari.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

OK

I see

Erukumakanaki:
Atleast FAYOSE trades words with Old men like himself

But why is this Junior Abòki Insulting An Elder Old enough to father him?!

I doubt if he has respect for his father sef!

Plz don't justify Fayose's actions. Buhari z far way older than him. Both r guilty for their actions

M available to succeed him

Another child molestation thread hits front page again. What's happening in this country?? God help us!!!

Thank God he wasn't sentenced to death

Nobody holy pass

FFK or FOK as he's nw being known is a disgrace to this Nation. Still wondering hw he was let free by our stupid n corrupt Judiciary system. He shd b behind bars by nw bt OH NO! He's a free man

A former Minister of Aviation, and spokesperson of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has said that Nigerians asked for the recent upsurge in Boko Haram attacks by refusing to renew Mr. Jonathan’s mandate, instead voting in Muhammadu Buhari as president.
Mr. Fani-Kayode said Mr. Buhari had always been sympathetic to Boko Haram.
“ Anyone that honestly believed that a man who secretly shares the same vision and core principles of Boko Haram and who spent many years defending them can do anything but give them a free hand when he comes to power is living in cuckoo land,” he said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
The remark was posted first on Monday, but was deleted before being re-posted on Tuesday.
Nigeria has in the last two weeks witnessed an escalation of Boko Haram’s bloody campaign, with several suicide bomb and gun attacks targeting places of worship, communities and public places, killing hundreds of people.
The latest attack occurred early Tuesday at a local government office in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Twenty five people were killed when a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive where civil servants had gathered for data verification in the Sabon Gari area of Zaria.
About 400 Nigerians are estimated to have been killed by the sect in the last five weeks.
Mr. Fani-Kayode, who recently changed his name to Femi Olukayode, in celebration of his court victory in a corruption case, said he was not surprised with the recent bombings and killings.
“I am not surprised by the resurgence of Boko Haram and their new-found barbarity, courage and zeal,” he said.
He also said the cause of the Boko Haram sect may have been aided by the removal of military checkpoints in towns and along highways.
He said the Nigerian government is also transferring Boko Haram suspects to Prisons in the eastern part of the country in order to ”spread the word” adding that no less than 182 Boko Haram suspects were released on the president’s orders just a few days ago.
“Is all this just a coincidence or is something that is dark and sinister now afoot in our country? “
“Whatever each of us may or may not believe, one thing is clear- that Boko Haram now have powerful friends and secret allies right at the epicentre of power and those friends and allies are running the affairs of the country,” he said.
Mr. Fani-Kayode said there is a much wider picture unfolding which the Nigerian people have yet to see and which they find difficult to accept, understand or comprehend.
“There is a hideous and frightful hidden agenda which is slowly manifesting before our very eyes. Though we warned them, the Nigerian people wanted ‘change’ so they must live with the consequences of their choice,” he said.
He also said one of those consequences is the new-found “audacity, courage, growing power and rising strength of Boko Haram”, while another is the “resurgence of a clearly ethnic agenda which is designed to leave no-one in doubt about who really owns Nigeria and who the slaves are”.
He said, yet another is the destruction and demystification of a national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, and his “Yoruba loyalists by his erstwhile northern allies in the APC”.
“Only a fool did not see that one coming and I am rather surprised that Tinubu’s followers are now crying foul and alleging that there is a northern conspiracy. Didn’t they know that before? Were they not warned over and over again?
“There are many other grave consequences which the Nigerian people will witness, in a most harrowing and frightful manner, in the next few months and years.
“May God deliver our people and our nation and may we learn to make the right choices,” he said.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/186280-after-rejecting-jonathan-nigerians-deserve-boko-haram-bombings-fani-kayode.html

Tushed. Old man forming swag