Account For $1bn You Took From ECA To Fight Boko Haram, PDP Tells Buhari
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to give account on how his administration spent the $1 billion it took from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) in 2017 to fight insurgency in the country.
President Buhari had secured the approval of the National Economic Council (NEC) in late 2017 to withdraw $1bn from the $2.3bn in the ECA at the time to fight insurgency in the North-East.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had chaired a meeting where the NEC reached the decision to approve the said sum for the purchase of security equipment and procurement of intelligence and logistics.
More than one year after the $1 billion was approved and with rising insecurity in the country, the opposition PDP is asking President Buhari to explain to Nigerians what his government did with the money.
The opposition party raised the question in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday.
“The money was approved in December 2017, and was meant to be used to purchase weapons to fight insurgency in North East, address issues of killings, kidnappings and banditry in parts of the federation,” said the PDP.
The party alleged that the confession of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Mongunu (rtd), that he is not aware of the whereabouts or disbursement of the money, is an indication of alleged “stealing and diversion of funds” under Buhari’s government.
“The revelation by NSA further vindicates the PDP on our initial alarm that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration is overtly corrupt, deceptive and unreliable in the handling the affairs of our nation.
“It further validates the stance of the PDP that agents of the Buhari Presidency and the APC were hiding under the guise of security to siphon the $1 billion from the ECA. This, perhaps, informed the desperation by the cabal to draw from the account without recourse to statutory due process of appropriation by the National Assembly.
“From Gen. Mongunu’s confession, Nigerians can further see why our nation is daily confronted with disturbing videos and reports of our fighting troops protesting their neglect and inadequate equipping, leading to their vulnerability in the fronts.
“Now that the National Security Adviser has declared that he is not aware of the whereabouts of funds, the burden, straightaway, lies squarely on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately address the nation on how the money was handled.
“This is especially as there are already allegations in the public space that certain funds meant for security were diverted for 2019 campaign activities of the APC while our troops languished in the front.
“Our party had always alerted Nigerians that the APC administration was insincere in the handling of the ECA fund leading to our demand in 2017 for the National Assembly to investigate the handling of the $1 billion,” said the opposition party.