The governors, in a communique issued on Tuesday, May 19, 2015, had demanded that Okonjo-Iweala explain how the funds were spent and the Minister of Finance has replied them.
Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that it’s strange for the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF) to allege that $20 billion had gone missing from the Excess Crude Account (ECA).
The governors, in a communique issued on Tuesday, May 19, 2015, had demanded that Okonjo-Iweala explain how the funds were spent.
The minister however said that the NGF had no basis to demand the information from her.
Okonjo-Iweala's response is contained in a statement released by her spokesperson, Paul Nwabuikwu.
It reads:
The statement by the governors is totally strange because Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), meets every month and the ECA is discussed at every session with all the state commissioners of finance present.
Nothing is hidden. At these meetings, the Minister of State who is the Chairman of FAAC, announces the balance in the ECA which is then discussed.
So, governors who want any information about the ECA should ask for details from their commissioners who should have the records of what was discussed and agreed upon.
The statement also added that the Ministry of Finance would soon publish details of the ECA for the past four years in the interest of transparency and accountability.