Governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have implored the National Assembly to institute a comprehensive audit probe of the Presidency over the $49.8bn (N8.5 trillion) believed to be missing from the Federation Account.
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi Lamido recently revealed that the money was missing, but Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-iweala disagreed.
However, after a meeting of the NGF in Abuja that began on Wednesday and ended on Thursday, Chairman of the forum and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi read a communiqué linking the declining revenue of states to such financial diversions as being suspected with the sum in focus.
“We, members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), at our meeting today, at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, deliberated on a number of issues and resolved as follows: On the issue of the missing $49.8bn (N8.5 Trillion) or equivalent of two years of the National Budget, there is no evidence that this amount was paid into the Federation Account or duly appropriated.
“We accordingly call on the National Assembly to institute a comprehensive independent forensic audit by an international reputable firm. We fear that the recent decline of state revenues is not unconnected with the financial diversion”.
The governors also agreed that the Federal Government breached the Fiscal Responsibility Act by failing to consult with states or the National Economic Council (NEC) before forwarding the Medium-term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to the National Assembly.
“In clear breach of the provision of Section 11, Part II of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, which requires the Federal Government to hold consultations with states before the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is laid before the National Assembly; consultation with states on the MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper (2014-2016) did not hold. The National Economic Council (NEC) meeting where issues of this nature would have been discussed last held four months ago”, Amaechi continued, before condemning recent violent attacks and killings, including one in Borno, Rivers and Kano States.
“We also condemn the flagrant violation of the rights of citizens to freely assemble in Rivers State by the Nigerian Police; the excessive use of force against unarmed citizens in the exercise of their fundamental rights and the shooting of Senator Magnus Abe.
“The financial irregularities relating to public accounting, the lack of compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, and the recent security breaches are not unconnected with the refusal of the Federal Government to convene meetings of statutory institutions created in the Constitution such as the National Economic Council (NEC), the Council of State, the Nigeria Police Council and meetings of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). We urge a return to the path of constitutionalism”.
