Amaechi’s NGF Wants Okonjo-Iweala Sacked

The  Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) under the leadership of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State yesterday, at the end of its  meeting at the Rivers State Governors lodge in Abuja, demanded for the resignation of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Professor Okonjo-Iweala.
Issues discussed at the meeting which started at 8:00p.m included the litigations over the management of the Excess Crude Account by the Federal Government as a result of  what the governors viewed as illegal disbursement from the account.
Also tabled for discussion was an update on the Federation  Accounts Allocation  Commission and the controversial Sovereign Wealth Fund and the polio eradication drive.
Rising from the meeting which ended at 10pm, the governors noted that, the non compliance with the revenue projections of the Federal Government of Nigeria 2013 Budget was a direct breach of the provisions of the Appropriation Act, 2013.
Expressing concern over the management of the economy, the governors called for a strict adherence to the Appropriation Act, 2013, failing which the minister should resign.
“Forum observed that the National Economic Council, (NEC) is constitutionally responsible for the management of the economy and should be used for that purpose as opposed to the Economic Management Team constituted by the Presidency.”
The Amaechi-led NGF further reiterated its “earlier call to the National Assembly for the separation of the office of the Accountant General of the Federation from that of the Accountant General of the Federal Government for accountability and bettter management of the economy.”
The resolution was signed by the Rivers State Governor and Chairman of the Forum, Rotimi Amaechi.
About 13 governors were present while three were represented by their deputies.
Those in attendance were governors of Kwara, Lagos, Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Niger, Ekiti, Oyo, Adamawa, Ogun, Jigawa, Osun and the host governor of Rivers state.
The governors of Edo, Borno and Nasarawa were represented by their deputies.