Prof. Pat Utomi | credits:
Govt must apologise to Ezekwesili – Utomi
by Bosede Olusola-Obasa
A
political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, has asked the Federal Government
to immediately apologise to the Senior Economic Adviser, African
Economic Policy Development Initiative, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili.
Utomi said the FG must, as a matter of
obligation, explain to Nigerians the accountability questions
surrounding the Excess Crude Account and $67bn (about N10.6trn) in
foreign reserves.
He made the call in a telephone
interview with Saturday PUNCH against the backdrop of a recent call by
Ezekwesili, challenging the Federal Government to open a public debate
that will disclose the management of oil revenue after the tenure of
ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Ezekwesili, a former Vice-President of
the World Bank, had in a speech delivered at the 42nd convocation of the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, demanded accountability by the Federal
Government on the issues of poor management of oil revenue, especially
as it affects the Excess Crude Account and the Foreign Reserve Account.
But rather than cash in on her request
to enlighten Nigerians on the issue in question, the FG, on Sunday,
described the allegation of mismanagement as “factually incorrect,
outlandish and clearly fictitious.”
Minister of Information, Labaran Maku,
had said that the verdict passed on the education sector by Ezekwesili
was a self-indictment, as she presided over the sector without bringing
any positive impact on it.
He said her criticism of the education
sector amounted to hypocrisy as she was part of the sector and
contributed to its sorry state.
He said, “Despite receiving N458.1bn
between 2006 and 2007 for the sector, there is nothing to show for it in
terms of achievements.”
But Utomi said that she had only
performed her duty as a proper citizen of Nigeria, adding that she
deserved a better answer from the FG.
He said the government owed it as an obligation to her and all Nigerians to explain how it spent the oil revenue.
“What she did was right. She deserves to
know; that is why we have the Freedom of Information Act. Governments
all over the world would take advantage of such challenges to explain
things to their citizens.
“I wrote on my tweeter page that from
its response so far on this issue, the FG is playing Abacha in mufti.
The FG must apologise to Ezekwesili and explain to Nigerians what
happened to the money,” he said.
Among other things, Ezekwesili had
alleged that the governments of Presidents Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck
Jonathan had squandered $67bn in reserves (including $45bn in external
reserves and $22bn in the Excess Crude Account) left by the Obasanjo
Administration at the end of May 2007.
She had also told an online news agency that she remained undeterred.
“I remain resolute in demanding full
disclosure and accountability by the Federal Government on the issues of
poor management of oil revenues – especially the Excess Crude Account
and the Foreign Reserve Account.
“The recent reaction by the spokesperson
for the administration failed to respond responsibly to my demand for
accountability,” she said.
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