Jonathan’s Govt Spent $2.1Bn in 7 months without Approval

National Economic Council, chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday accused the last administration under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan of spending $2.1billion in seven months from the Excess Crude Account without authorisation.

Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State Governor told State House correspondents after the NEC’s 58th meeting in Abuja that “We looked at the numbers for the Excess Crude Account. The last time the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reported to the council, and it is in the minutes, she reported by November 2014 that we had $4.1 bn.

“Today, the Accountant-General Office reported we have $2.0bn. Which means the honourable minister spent $2.1bn without authority of the NEC and that money was not distributed to states, it was not paid to the three tiers of government.”

The ‘unauthorised’ spending, according to the economic council, is among the several anomalies discovered in the management of the nation’s economy between 2012 and May 2015 more especially in the oil and gas sector.

A case at hand which Oshiomhole cited during the period, was the case of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was said to have earned a total of N8.1 tn but remitted only N4.3tn.

Oshiomhole is part of a four-man committee that includes the Chairman of the Governors Forum and Zamfara Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, Malam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna and Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom.

The four-man committee is expected to examine the accruals into and withdrawals from the Federation Account and the Excess Crude Account from 2012 to May 2015.