The
Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi okonjo-Iweala, said it was strange for the
Governors Forum to allege that 20 billion dollars were missing from the Excess
Crude Account (ECA).
This
is contained in a statement issued by Mr Paul Nwabuikwu, spokesman for the
Minister, in Abuja on Tuesday.
The statement said there was no basis for the
forum to demand that the minister should account for such money from June 2013
to April 2015.
“The
statement by the governors is totally strange because Federal Accounts Allocation
Committee (FAAC), meets every month and the ECA is discussed at every session
with all the state commissioners of finance present''.
Nothing
is hidden. At these meetings, the Minister of State who is the Chairman of
FAAC, announces the balance in the ECA which is then discussed.
“So,
governors who want any information about the ECA should ask for details from
their commissioners who should have the records of what was discussed and
agreed upon”, it said.
According to the statement, details of the ECA
are also published every month along with the allocations to the three tiers of
government.