Governors yesterday asked Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to account for over $20 billion accruable to the Excess Crude Account.
Rising from a meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum in Abuja on Tuesday, the governors demanded that the minister give explanation on the fund, which had not been accounted for between June 2013 and April 2015.
In a communiqué read by the chairman of the Forum, Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the governors unanimously elected Governor Abdullaziz Yari of Zamfara State as new chairman of the Forum for a period of one year.
The governors also approved the establishment of a Governors’ Forum Academy to be tagged the NGF Leadership Academy. The Academy would be responsible for capacity building for governors and other public office holders.
Also on the card is a proposed induction course for new and returning governors to equip them with the necessary tools and knowledge in global best practices to run their administration.
The governors congratulated the President-Elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on his victory at the poll and also commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his statesmanship in accepting the outcome of the election.
The Communiqué reads in part, “We are hereby reconciled and reunited as a single umbrella association of the 36 State Governors of Nigeria regardless of party or region.
“Forum congratulates the President-Elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari , on his victory in the recent presidential election which held on March 28, 2015 and President Goodluck Jonathan for his statesmanship in accepting the outcome of the election.
“In the light of the fact that funds in the Excess Crude were disbursed in May 2013, there is need for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi- Iweala, to provide explanation for accruals to this account from June 2013 to April 2015, which is estimated at over $20 billion.”