The Federal Government on Sunday accused
former minister of education and former World Bank group for Africa vice
president, Obiageli Ezekwesili, of misappropriating a total of N458
billion allocated to the country’s educational sector when she served as
minister between 2006 and 2007.
Former minister of education and former World Bank group for Africa vice president, Obiageli Ezekwesili
The government also described as factually incorrect Mrs Ezekwesili’s
claim that late President Umar Musa Yar’adua and President Goodluck
Jonathan squandered $67 billion in reserves, comprising $45 billion in
the external reserves and $22 billion in the Excess Crude Account left
by former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the end of May 2007.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who spoke on the behalf of
the Federal Government, argued that Mrs Ezekwesili’s made no single
reference of what she did during her stay in office in such sectors.
The Minister said, “We also found Mrs Ezekwesili’s interrogation of
the educational system somewhat disingenuous and borderline
hypocritical. During her tenure as minister of education between 2006
and 2007, she collected a total of N352.3 billion from direct budgetary
releases.
“In addition, she received about N65.8 billion under the Universal
Basic Education Commission (UBEC) fund, and over N40 billion from the
Education Trust Fund (ETF). In view of these humongous allocations, a
few legitimate questions arise: what did she do with all these
allocations? What impact did it have on the education sector? One
wonders if our educational system would have been better today if these
allocations were properly applied.”
Mr Maku further alleged that Mrs Ezekwesili’s alleged claims during
UNN’s convocation ceremony on January 24, 2013 “betray a surprisingly
limited understanding of government finances.”
He said, “These statements are even more curious in the light of the
fact that she has held senior positions in government, and, more
recently, a position as a vice president of the World Bank. However,
rather than speculate about her motives, we would focus on the facts.”
Mr Maku further stated that the government did not intend to take her
to court “but we will only explain and leave her in the court of public
judgement.”
Clarifying the allegation of misappropriation of fund by late
President Yar’Adua and President Jonathan, Mr Maku said, “At the end of
May 2007, Nigeria’s gross reserves stood at $43.13 billion – comprising
the CBN’s external reserves of $31.5 billion, $9.43 billion in the
Excess Crude Account and $2.18 billion in the federal government’s
savings. These figures can be independently verified from the CBN’s
records. The figure of $67 billion alleged in her statement is therefore
clearly fictitious.
“However, since President Obasanjo left office, the reserves have
experienced fluctuations, rising from $43.13 billion in May 2007,
peaking at $62 billion in September 2008 during the Yar’Adua/Jonathan
administration when oil prices peaked at $147 per barrel, and falling
subsequently to a low of $31.7 in September 2011.
“This fall in reserves was a result of the vicissitudes of the global
financial crisis which caused CBN interventions in the currency market
to defend the value of the naira. The Excess Crude savings, a component
of the reserves, was also used to stimulate the economy at the height of
the global financial crisis to the tune of about $1 billion (or 0.5
percent of our 2009 GDP).”
This move, he said, ensured that Nigeria was one of the few countries
in the world that did not seek assistance from international financial
institutions. He also remarked that the fiscal stimulus used to shore up
the economy during that period was shared by all three tiers of
government, including commitments of about $5.5 billion made under the
Obasanjo administration for power projects.
“No one disputes that Nigeria still faces challenges, most of which
were built up over a long time,” the minister further stated, “but we
need to acknowledge the significant achievements of this administration
in the aftermath of difficult but necessary macroeconomic and structural
reforms being implemented in the country.
The minister went on to name some the achievements of the Jonathan
government on the economic front, some of which have attracted
international recognition.
“This administration,” he said, “has restored macroeconomic stability
against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty, slow growth in the
United States and high unemployment and unsustainable debt in Europe.
In the first three quarters of 2012, Nigeria’s economy grew by about 6.4
percent and is set to continue at a similar pace in 2013 according to
independent forecasts. We have reduced our fiscal deficit to only 2.17
percent of GDP in the 2013 budget, while rebalancing our spending in
favour of capital expenditure.
“These achievements have already received strong endorsement from
international ratings agencies. At a time when many advanced and
emerging markets are being downgraded, Fitch and S&P have upgraded
our sovereign credit ratings. The inclusion of Nigeria’s sovereign bonds
in the emerging market bond indices of JP Morgan and Barclays also
testifies to the growing confidence of the international investment
community in our economy.”
Mr Maku also listed commencement of rail transport from Lagos to
Kano, improved electricity supply, rehabilitation of road and aviation
infrastructure and improvement in agriculture value-chain, where new
jobs are being created every day, in addition to providing enabling
environment for the private sector to create jobs for the youth as some
of the good work done by President Jonathan.
The
Super Eagles of Nigeria is yet to heave a sigh of relief after the
nerve-wracking clash in Group C of the Afcon 2013, where the victory
could have swung the other way.
