Presidency, PDP argue over bailout funds

The war of words between the Presidency and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the bailout funds approved for the states by President Muhammadu Buhari continued yesterday, following the opposition party’s demand for an apology to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the apology has become necessary as the $2.1 billion LNG component of the bailout fund saved by the immediate past president has rubbished President Muhammadu Buhari’s claim that he met an empty treasury.

Metuh said the LNG dividend stood at $5.6 billion even before the handover date of May 29 and would have been shared but for the insistence of Jonathan that it be left for the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to manage.

According to him, despite attempts by the APC-led administration to hide the truth, the issuance of the bailout with funds from the LNG proceeds and the Excess Crude Account has exposed the fact that the PDP administration actually left behind huge sums of money, contrary to the impression earlier given to Nigerians that the new administration met a virtually empty treasury.

“It is gratifying to note that gradually the evidence of monies left behind by the PDP-led administration is coming to public light despite effort by the new government to hide the facts,” Metuh said.

But the Presidency, in a swift response, accused the PDP of creating unnecessary controversy over “the well-intentioned effort” of President Buhari.

Read also: Nigeria’s treasury empty, says Buhari

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement, described as “banal and ludicrous” the claim by Metuh that the past government should be given credit for saving the money that was disbursed.

“Mr. Metuh’s claim that a significant amount of the funds came from savings accumulated in the Excess Crude Account and handed over to the Buhari administration is completely false and deliberately intended to mislead the public.

“As we clearly stated yesterday (on Tuesday), the funds approved by President Buhari for sharing to the three tiers of government on Monday came entirely from dividends and taxes paid to the Federation Account by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company, not from the Excess Crude Account.

“The disbursed NLNG dividends and taxes were paid into the Federation Account in June this year and confirmed by the Central Bank’s statement to the Federal Government on July 7, 2015. The funds cannot, therefore, be considered ‘savings’ by the Jonathan administration which left office in May, 2015, as disingenuously claimed by Mr. Metuh,” Adesina said.

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