Posted by From JAMES OJO, Abuja on
Another controversy over the management of the Excess Crude Account was stoked on Wednesday when the House of Representatives raised questions over the legality of an alleged withdrawal amounting to about N1.2 trillion by the Presidency.
Another controversy over the management of the Excess Crude Account was stoked on Wednesday when the House of Representatives raised questions over the legality of an alleged withdrawal amounting to about N1.2 trillion by the Presidency.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo created the account and financed the controversial power sector reform from it. The move has been described as illegal by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC).
The alleged withdrawal was brought to the attention of the House by Hon Patrick Obahiagbon from Edo State, who raised a matter of urgent national importance at the plenary.
Obahiagbon who drew the attention of the members to the withdrawals described the action as unconstitutional.
He disclosed that the National Economic Council had on June 19 approved the withdrawal of the said amount out of which N628 billion was earmarked for intervention in the power sector.
According to him, the constitutional breach in the decision of the council was not something any parliament worth its salt could afford to ignore.
Debates were not immediately allowed on the motion as Speaker Dimeji Bankole ruled that members would be allowed to take up the matter today.
The excess crude account has been a subject of disagreement between the presidency and the state chief executives, with the governors insisting that the revenue should be disbursed to the states in accordance with constitutional provisions.