Insecurity: Interrogate Buhari, recover $1bn ECA fund, PDP charges NASS

.Demands invocation of constitution provisions to invite President for questioning

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Due to the continued silence of the Federal Government over utilisation of the $1 billion drawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) by the President Muhammadu Buhari Presidency in 2017, purportedly for security services, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded an urgent Intervention of the National Assembly.

The party charged the legislature to respond to quests of Nigerians to know how the fund was expended by immediately setting up an ad hoc committee to interrogate President Buhari who personally sought parliamentary approval for the release of the said fund.

If found unaccounted for, the party urged the National Assembly as the true representatives of the people, to ensure total recovery of the money back to public coffers.

The PDP wants the parliament to be firm in invoking its powers under sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to invite President Buhari to give account of the money, which was drawn from the ECA by his Presidency, without recourse to legislative appropriation.

The party noted that since the Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) do not have any cogent clarifications, the National Assembly should exercise its investigative powers under the constitution to interrogate the issue as well as recover the money in the general interest.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement on Sunday, said the demand by the PDP is predicated on “allegations of complicity in the public space against the Buhari Presidency, following its failure to address the matter since the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Mongunu (rtd), who is in-charge of the nation’s security architecture, confessed that he is not aware of the whereabouts of the money.

The party said: “Whereas section 88 gives the National Assembly the overriding powers to conduct investigations to, among other things, expose corruption and inefficiency in administration of public funds, section 89 empowers it, among other things, to summon ANY PERSON in Nigeria to give evidence or produce any document under his possession or control, related to the issues under investigation.

“The PDP therefore urges the National Assembly to uphold the constitution by inviting President Buhari to produce documents that approved the withdrawal of the money, the terms of withdrawal, the channeling of the funds, as well as those involved in its handling.

“The party further implores the federal legislature to stand in the interest of the nation and resist all plots by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the cabal at the Presidency to sweep the matter under the carpet.

“The PDP calls on the legislators to reflect on the pains of Nigerians, particularly, victims of killings, bloodlettings, kidnappings and other acts of violence, which continued unrepressed, while funds meant for security were reportedly being frittered.

“This is especially as allegation in the public space remain rife that funds meant for security in our nation were diverted to finance APC 2019 election campaigns, while insecurity fester in our country”