Depletion of Excess Crude Account fraudulent, says PDP

Reps want Obono-Obla sacked, SPIP dissolved
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday described revelation of furtive depletion of $1.68 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) as a fraud, saying the development has further shown that President Muhammadu Buhari presides over a corrupt government.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party accused President Buhari of overseeing the surreptitious withdrawals from the ECA, without recourse to statutory appropriation of the National Assembly.

It explained that this was because funds are being frittered away from the account to private purses of the cabal of Buhari’s presidency and corrupt All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, insisting that the government was bent on draining the nation’s treasury and foisting more suffering on Nigerians

The party described the excuses being peddled by the Buhari administration on the depletion as hazy, muddled-up and could not find any basis under due process of statutory legislative approvals.

“The PDP, which established the ECA as a buffer account to cushion the effect of any economic down turn, left $2.07 billion in the account only for the Buhari administration to drain it down to $631 million.

We condemn this manifest impunity by the Buhari Presidency and demands that no more withdrawals should be made from the account by this corrupt and inept administration,” the statement added.

However, the House of Representatives yesterday enjoined President Buhari to sack Okoi Obono-Obla as Special Adviser and Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP).