Akwa Ibom governor, Udom Emmanuel has kicked against the withdrawal of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to fight Boko Haram terrorists.

Background:

The decision to withdraw $1bn from the $2.3bn in the account to fight insurgency had led to controversies.

Udom is the second governor to reject the decision taken by governors at a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Ekiti governor had said the money will be used to fund the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

What Udom said:

In a statement on Friday, Udom said the President was not showing the same interest in the Niger Delta.

He added that he was not present at the meeting and could not have supported the decision.

“We are not too comfortable with the decision to part with $1bn now. That (kind of money) is supposed to support developments by state governments and local government areas,” the governor said in the statement.

“The excess crude money is for the three tiers of the government and because we are supposed to use it to support what we are doing, we need to discuss more.”

He also asked the Federal Government to pay the debts it owed Akwa Ibom State.

He said, “I am not speaking for anybody, but I am speaking for myself, that as of today, we are being owed almost N140bn for federal road projects. We have generated electricity and have sold it to the national grid, but we have not been paid for it.

“When we are discussing security, it’s not just one aspect. Let’s look at it in a holistic manner. What actually constitutes security threats to the whole country?”

Finally found his voice:

Just like Fayose, Udom was absent at the meeting and just found his voice to kick against the decision.

Azeez