Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed in Lagos, yesterday that former President Olusegun Obasanjo left $65 billion in the country’s Excess Crude Account (ECA), but it was frittered away.
Amaechi has fired yet another shot at former President Goodluck Jonathan, less than 24 hours after he said those who wished to leave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) could go.
The minister dislosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, yesterday, where he said the wastage in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) era was alarming.
“When Obasanjo was leaving, he left about $65 billion in the ECA, but this money was frittered away and we wonder where the money is.
“As at then, the price of crude oil, during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration hovered around $140. With this, they did not leave anything for the incoming government.
“With that kind of money, we should be thinking of connecting Nigeria through rail system. The rail from Ibadan to Kano would have been completed, also, the rail gauge between Port Harcourt to Maiduguri and Lagos to Calabar. But, all the excess crude money was frittered away; we need to ask questions.”
The excess crude account is a Federal Government account domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria, which is used to save oil revenues above an amount derived from a defined benchmark price. The ECA was established in 2004.
Its objective is primarily to protect planned budgets against shortfalls, due to volatile crude oil prices.
Amaechi said his pursuit for change made him leave the PDP for the APC and added that he would have used his position as the then chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum to fight the situation, but he felt there was need to cross over to the APC because of his belief in President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I moved from PDP to APC because I was tired of what was happening in the party, I had the option to stay because of my position as the chairman of the governors then.
“I can use my position to fight them (PDP) and get what I wanted because I believe Nigeria was not going in the right direction then.
“My attention and belief shifted to Buhari which was the viable alternative. I believe in the change mantra because it is the only way to improve on what is on ground.
“He has not disappointed because the economy is now back on track and is growing. This is evident in the current prices of food items because it’s getting lower.”
Amaechi said prices of food would further crash because of the efforts of the government at making the country self-sufficient in food production.
“With the change going on, the price will further crash because before this government came in, prices were soaring because we were importing food items, things we can grow here,” he said.
“Now, the policy of government is working. The policy banned the importation of rice, t he price is now about N16,000, but before now, we were importing about N3 billion worth of rice.
“Before now too, we were importing another N3 billion worth of poultry products, we were importing tomatoes, but with the ban, we are now concentrating on our local production.
“Many states in the northern part of the country are now growing rice in large quantities though by right, the South South geo-political zone should be doing that because they are the ones in the swampy area.”