A committee to examine the possibility of sharing among federal and state governments the money from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), has been set up by President Muhammadu Buhari and is headed by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo.
The committee was set up on Tuesday, June 23, 2014 and was announced by President Buhari at the meeting help with all 36 state governors. The committee was set up as part of proactive steps to help bailout states owing backlogs of workers salaries.
The President asked VP Osibanjo’s committee to take a look at the ECA and pin point what could immediately be shared. He also insisted that even though he would help out with the financial challenges the states face but that the days of mismanagement of national resources, lack of accountability, fiscal recklessness and impunity are over.
He also pledged that all stolen government funds by officials in past administrations would be recovered and that all the systemic leakages would be plugged. He expressed shock at the governors passiveness at the alleged atrocities committed with the ECA since 2011 while vowing to deal decisively with the matter.
President Buhari stated that it was Constitutional abuse to pay national revenue into any account that was not the Federation Account siting examples of what he had heard happens in some agencies and corporations, especially Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as illegal.
He assured the state governors that any monies spent of federal projects by state governments would be refunded but due process must first be followed. While also promising special assistance to the three Boko Haram harassed north eastern states.
