Okonjo-Iweala Must Explain The Whereabouts of $4.1billion

The war of words between Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and the former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, continued, yesterday, with Oshiomhole challenging the former minister to explain what happened to the $4.1 billion she presented in her last report.

Oshiomhole also challenged the former minister to explain why she never published simultaneously what was accrued to the Excess Crude Account during the period she published what was distributed.

He said: “The decision to take money from the Excess Crude Account, if she had the power, the law should have been that power is vested in the National Economic Council, NEC. NEC is an institution created by the constitution. 

“What she was referring to is her own administrative arrangement. This $2 billion is the last sum, in her last report. She said we have $4.1 billion, she said so orally but it was captured in the minutes, only to come at the last minute to say oh ‘X’ is left.

“If you ask her, what is it that she paid for on the strength of augmentation, that is to say, if they were augmenting, it means that even if there is a drop in price, they will take from the Excess Crude Account to make up the difference.

“If they were doing that, you wouldn’t have the kind of situation we are in today where revenue drops by about 45 percent. I think, with all due respect to Okonjo-Iweala, she knows how to play around, (I don’t want to say, lie) with statistics. I have made this point that she kept open only part of the pages and not the entire book.

“The logic of transparency is that every minister must publish in full what is accruing to the Federation Account, month to month, and what is distributed to whom. What she has been publishing is what went to the Federal Government, each state government and local governments.

“But she has never published simultaneously what accrued during the period, out of which this said sum was distributed so that you can get the net, what was distributed from all that was collected and see what is left in the excess crude. Now you can see her changing the goal post.

“Okonjo-Iweala was a member of the National Economic Council. I was a member. I had asked her and I am on record as asking her, don’t give us verbal report on matters of Federation Account, give us written report.”

The governor spoke on the state of the economy on a Channels Television programme on Wednesday.