Author: Wale Akinola
-Former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has revealed why Jonathan's government failed to save despite oil boom
- President Muhammadu Buhari had repeatedly blamed his inability to deliver on his critical campaign promises on the shortage of funds
- Okonjo-Iweala noted that the then state governors insisted that funds in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) must be shared
A former minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has linked the failure of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to save for the rainy day, despite oil boom, to the insistence of state governors that funds in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) must be shared. The Punch reports that Okonjo-Iweala, said as finance minister, with the backing of Jonathan and ex-vice-president Namadi Sambo, she had a running battle with state governors, who insisted that there was no need to save despite that crude oil was selling at $86 per barrel.
NAIJ.com gathered that the former minister said this in her book, “Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines,” published recently. President Muhammadu Buhari who succeeded Jonathan has been blaming his inability to deliver on his critical campaign promises on the shortage of funds.
Buhari had lamented that the government was broke due to the failure of the previous administration to save when oil price was high. The country went into an economic recession in 2016. But Okonjo-Iweala, who doubled as coordinating minister for the economy under Jonathan, identified the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who was then Rivers state governor and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF); the national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, then Edo state governor; and Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state, as the most strident voices against the proposition to retain funds in the ECA for the rainy day.
According to Okonjo-Iweala, the National Economic Council (NEC) meetings used to turn stormy whenever the debate about sharing what was in the ECA came up, noting that only a few governors, such as then governor Peter Obi of Anambra state, supported the argument for saving but their voices were drowned by the majority who insisted that the country was already experiencing the rainy day and the money should be shared.
Okonjo-Iweala, who had her first stint as finance minister between 2003 and 2006 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, noted that Obasanjo’s administration created the ECA to solve the problem of Nigeria’s volatile revenue.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the former minister of finance under the Goodluck Jonathan's administration, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala revealed the reason she didn't throw in the towel and resign despite all adversities during her two terms as minister.
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