Immediate past minister of petroleum resources Dezeani
Allison-Maduekwe and her Finance counterpart Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are to meet
with former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to brief him and assure him that
their financial records was in order before handing over to the present
government.
Former president Jonathan who is expected back in the
country from the UK is to meet with the two key ministers who served in his
administration in otueke, his home town in Bayelsa state before the end of next
week.
President Muhammadu Buhari had said that his administration
has received firm assurances of cooperation from the United States and other
countries in his quest to recover and repatriate all funds stolen from Nigeria
government officials especially in the recent past government.
Buhari said it was now up to Nigeria to provide the
international community with the facts and figures needed to drive the recovery
effort adding that he would be busy, in the next three months, getting the
facts that would help in recovering the stolen funds.
“In the next three months, our administration will be busy
getting those facts and the figures to help us recover our stolen funds in
foreign countries,’’ the President said.
Citing the report submitted by the Ahmed Joda-led transition
committee, Buhari said several revenue-generating institutions in the country
had been compromised, leading to a weak economy.
Close associates of the two ministers who do not want to be
mentioned in the print told our correspondent
after the declaration of President Buhari that all stolen funds must be
recovered explained that the former president do not want the present
government to indict him of corruption as such will tarnish his image and
reputation before the international community.
The source said that former president Jonathan had after
march 28th presidential election which he lost to Buhari ordered the two key
ministers who were directly in charge of the nation’s economy to ensure that
all money spent without proper records should be retired appropriately and
justifiably under capital projects of the administration and security threats
in the country as cover ups.
The former petroleum minister who left the country to the UK
before the inauguration of the present administration on May 29th is expected
back in the country during the weekend for the meeting as her finance
counterpart is in the country watching events in the Buhari’s government and is
ready to appear before any panel to explain her deeds in the last government.
“The former president has no single knowledge about how the
economy of the country under his watch was being run, he handed the whole
economy to the finance minister and the petroleum minister was equally running
the oil sector at will, and the way things are going, the former president may
likely be invited to answer some of the financial fraud, he needs proper
briefing from them on how to defend himself to avoid public embarrassment if he
is called to defend himself”
“The finance minister had assured Jonathan before handing
over that as an expert in the economy, she has reconcile all the financial
records of the administration and the next government will not invite him for
any reason to come and explain, but for fear of being embarrass in the public, the
former president needs further briefing and assurance on the financial records
handed over to the Buhari government” the source said
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday vowed to recover
funds stolen by government officials who abused their offices in the recent
past adding that the days of impunity, lack of accountability and fiscal
recklessness in the management of national resources are over in Nigeria.
He said: “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 said
President Buhari who
spoke through his Special Adviser on media and Publicity, Femi Adesina spoke at
a meeting with the state governors in Abuja insisted that systemic leakages
will be stopped.
Expressing surprise that the governors had tolerated the
atrocities allegedly committed with the Excess Crude Account since 2011and
promised to tackle the issue decisively.
He 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 about activities in many agencies and
corporations, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, 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.
He promised special assistance for the three Northeastern
states that were 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 known to
the nation within the next four weeks.
The President added: “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.”
The governors led by the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum,
Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, according to the statement, had presented a
wish list to the President that included:
Obedience of extant Supreme Court ruling that all monies go into the
Consolidated Federation Account and an order from the President that all
revenue generating agencies must pay into the Consolidated Federation Account.
Other demands by the
governors include Review of the Revenue Allocation Formula, Refund of the
monies expended by states on federal projects,
A special consideration for the three states of the Northeast under Boko
Haram infestation and full details of the amounts that accrued into the Excess
Crude Account from 2011, and how the money miraculously shrank without official
sharing.
Recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had recently
declared that he met an empty treasury on assumption of office on May 29th
2015.
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