Osinbajo, governors accuse Jonathan of sharing N2bn ecological fund among only PDP states

BUY AND SELL @ marttle.com

– The ex-President Goodluck Jonathan has been accused of sharing N2bn Ecological Fund among PDP states

– The NEC’s interim report revealed that 19 states, including Abuja, are yet to benefit from the one percent share of the Ecological Fund as stipulated by law

– Governor Nasir El-Rufai said the committee established beyond all doubts that in 2013 ex-President Goodluck Jonathan gave N2bn to certain states of the federation but excluded other states

The administration of former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, discriminated in the sharing of ecological funds to states, a new report has shown.

Premium Times reports that an interim report submitted by the National Executive Council’s Ad-hoc committee on management of ecological fund revealed that 19 states, including Abuja, are yet to benefit from the one percent share of the Ecological Fund as stipulated by law.

READ ALSO: Saudi Arabia announces OFFICIAL date for 2017 RAMADAN fast

ZENITHBLOG.com gathered that NEC, an official economic platform for dialogue among the 36 state governors, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other co-opted members, is chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

Ag President Yemi Osinajo at the National Economic Council Meeting in Abuja

The interim report, submitted by an 11-man Committee headed by Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State, gave details of how the entire Ecological Fund was utilized during Mr. Jonathan’s era.

The Committee informed Council of the revised sharing formula of the Ecological Funds as modified, with the Federal Government getting one percent; States, 0.72 percent; and Local Government Areas, 0.60 percent.

ZENITHBLOG.com had previously reported that the Federal Government said it would probe ex-President Goodluck Jonathan over ecological funds.

The Committee disclosed that all States and Local Government Areas got their shares of the Fund, and that the only portion left is the Federal Government’s share of one percent.

The committee said of that FG’s one percent, (which now stands at N33.6 billion), NEMA and Great Green Wall project are statutorily entitled to 20 percent and 15 percent respectively.

Only 65 percent of the FG’s share is therefore available for sharing, it said.

class="align-left">The report, however, noted that there is need to establish clear criteria for sharing that percentage of the FG share among states of the Federation.

According to the Committee, 19 states did not benefit from the fund during the Jonathan administration.

The report listed the 19 states to include Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger and Ogun.

Others are Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Other states benefitted in 2013, the report said, describing the arrangement as “discriminatory”.

Meanwhile, the sum of 13 billion naira is now available for sharing to states, since N20 billion must be left in the account for unknown national emergencies, the committee.

Speaking with State House correspondents after the National Economic Council meeting (NEC) in Abuja on Thursday May 25, Governor Nasir El-Rufai said: “The committee established beyond all doubts that in 2013, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan gave N2bn to certain states of the federation but excluded other states.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

“The states that got it were all PDP states and states of other parties that were sympathetic to the PDP like Labour Party in Ondo and APGA in Anambra state. 19 states and the FCT did not get the N2bn from the ecological fund. These states are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara and Lagos.

“Others are Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara and the federal capital territory.

“So, essentially what President Goodluck Jonathan did was to take N2bn each from the ecological fund and give to some PDP states.

“Any PDP state that was not his friend like Kano and Kwara didn’t get it. And all the other opposition party, like ACN state got nothing… no ANPP state got anything.”

Watch the ZENITHBLOG.com TV video report of the anti-corruption walk of the EFCC that held in Abuja recently.

‘);
});
}(window, document);

0naze

Share: