$16b Power Project: Nigerians Are Waiting For Your Explanation, Agoro Tells Obasanjo
Following accusations and counter accusations among the presidency and former Presidents , Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan over $16billion power project, Dr Olapade Agoro, National Chairman of the National Action Council (NAC) has challenged the three Nigerian leader to stop the blame-game and explain their roles in series of mismanaged funds since 1999.
Agoro said this when speaking with newsmen in Ibadan Sunday on the occasion of Nigeria’s 19th anniversary of Democracy Day.
The NAC chairman said, “It was unfortunate that the 19 years of democratic process have brought about poverty, suffering and sorrow to Nigerians as a result of corruption and mismanagement of funds”. “The 19 years of democratic experience in the country have been woefully messed up by corrupt politicians. What Nigerians need now is explanation on how some funds were mismanaged or embezzled.” Besides, the cleric insisted that Nigerians also deserved to know more about the $62 billion left behind in the country’s foreign exchange reserve in 2007 when former President Obasanjo was leaving office got depleted to about $360 million within one year, and the missing $20 billion crude oil money alleged by the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
The NAC’s National Chairman, however, revealed that in order to create a platform for Buhari, Obasanjo and Jonathan to be heard, he (Agoro) would on August 16, 2018 organise a forum in Ibadan that would be tagged ” Face the Nation”, in which the trio and members of their economic teams will be invited to explain their roles in the alleged mismanagement of funds.
His words: “The issue of the $16 billion power project is not a blame-game issue. Buhari was partially right, claiming that Obasanjo spent $16 billion on the power project. The truth is that Obasanjo committed $12 billion, while the Yar’Adua/Jonathan’s administration committed $8 billion on the project”.
“This is, therefore, calling on Obasanjo to forget about asking anybody to go and read his book. Nigerians are not interested in that. Nigerians deserve to know what is happening. Nigerians are waiting for explanations on what happened to the money. It is, therefore, not an ordinary political words bring throwing about”, Agoro said.
