Governors: No proof $49.8bn entered Federation Account

Governors under the aegis of the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led faction of the Nigeria Governors' Forum have further stirred the issue of the diverted $49.8 billion funds as alleged by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Sanusi had said in his letter to President Goodluck Jonthan last December alleged that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation had failed to remit the amount $49.8 billion to the Federation Account as statutorily required.

His allegation has raised dust within the country leading to joint ministerial review, which later found the alarm by the CBN as largely falls.

Many Nigerian had criticized the CBN governor for resorting to such explosive letter  without first of conducting proper checks.

The letter landed the garrulous CBN governor into trouble with the presidency, who wants him to resign from his job six months before the end of his his tenure.

The governors said there is no record to show that the alleged missing $49.8bn was paid into the Federation Account or was duly appropriated as explained by functionaries of the Jonathan administration..

The governors therefore  asked the National Assembly to institute what they called a comprehensive forensic audit into the matter.

This was one of the resolutions reached at the end of the meeting of the factional meeting of Nigeria Governors Forum, which was held in Abuja on Wednesday night.

Since the troubled election of the NGF  in middle of last year, NGF has operated two factions, one led by Governor Amaechi and the other by Governor Jona Jang of Plateau State.

The meeting of Amaechi group was held at Rivers State Governor's lodge with  Amaechi presiding.

Amaechi had earlier in November 2013 alleged that the sum of $5 billion had been withdrawn for the Excess Crude Account, but immediately responded to by the Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, who explained that the money was used to shore up the revenue shortfall and subsequently shared among the three tiers of government.

At their last meeting, which was held in Abuja on December 12, 2013, the governors said they were going to confront President Goodluck Jonathan on the alleged refusal of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to remit the amount to the Federation Account.

The governors based their decision on the revelation made by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, in his letter to the President that the NNPC had failed to remit the money, which was said to be the proceeds from crude sales between January 2012 and July 2013.

The said amount was said to have represented 76 per cent of the value of crude oil lifting during the period, in which the NNPC was said to have remitted $15.5bn, representing a paltry 24 per cent of the total value of $65.3bn.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, Amaechi, who was flanked by his colleagues, said, 'We, members of the Nigeria Governors' Forum, 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 (N8.5tr) 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.'