The Nigerian Governors’ Forum is putting its house together as it prepares to face the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), which is probing how governors spent the N522billion Paris Club loan refund. The money was shared to the state governments in December 2016 by the Federal Government.
The governors, according to Bayo Okauru, Director-General of the NGF, are set answer issues being raised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in its investigations. “Yes, the governors are meeting soon, probably this week to take a position and address some of the issues being raised by the EFCC,” Okauru said.
Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC’s spokesperson, issued a statement in which he sated “unequivocally, that no state governor or the Senate President has been indicted so far by the investigation which is still at a preliminary stage.
“Also, insinuations about a cover-up by some officials of the commission are untrue as there is no incentive to do so.
“The commission implores the media to be circumspect in the reportage of this delicate issue in order not to jeopardise ongoing investigation, and be assured that they would be fully briefed of developments as soon as a breakthrough is achieved.”
However, only N388billion of the money has been released to the states. Rivers, Lagos, Katsina, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom and Baylesa states were said to have received N14.5bn each while Imo, Niger, Jigawa and Borno states received about N13bn each.
Yobe, Plateau, Ogun, Abia and Zamfara states were said to have received N10bn each while Sokoto, Osun, Kogi, Kebbi, Edo, Cross River and Anambra states got about N11bn each.
Benue and Bauchi states reportedly got about N12bn each.
Other states are Ebonyi, N3.3bn; Adamawa, N4.8bn; Gombe, N8.3bn; Ekiti, N8.8bn; Enugu, N9.9bn; Kwara, N5.4bn; Ondo, N6.5bn; Nasarawa, N8.4bn; Ondo, N6.5bn; Taraba, N4.2bn; and Oyo, N7.2bn.
By Dike Onwuameze