The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday alleged the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan diverted a whopping N3.5 trillion pension funds to recurrent expenditures.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Oshiomhole said the Nigerian pensioners funds were diverted into payment of salaries and other recurrent bills.
He also said the travails of a former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke over allegations of money laundering were expected, adding that the revelation so far made about her was only a tip of the iceberg and an appetizer.
Oshiomhole said his submission was against the background of enormous oil revenue accruals to the immediate past administration.
He said the administration had little or nothing to show for the huge accruals.
Alison-Madueke, who appeared before a London court on Monday to answer to charges of money laundering, had about £27,000 belonging to her confiscated on the orders of the court.
The governor, as spokesman of the Ad Hoc committee of the National Economic Council on remittance to the Federation Account by government revenue earning agencies, had heaped allegations of massive fraud against Jonathan’s administration.
Oshiomhole said on Tuesday: “For me, I don’t think anybody should be surprised because the most favourable commentator on the Nigerian condition, the economy, the polity and society, everybody agrees that our economy was badly mismanaged over the past years.
“I have not seen one commentator that disagrees.
“The truth is that a lot of money was stolen and what you are seeing is just a tip of the iceberg, because when you imagine what accrues to Nigeria consistently from $140, averaging $108, over a long period of time and yet your treasury is empty and you were running a budget deficit, you were devoting 85 per cent of your budget for four consecutive years to recurrent, you were borrowing and you draw the entire pensions fund.
“Yesterday (Monday) I saw a lot of analysis of how pension funds should be invested on infrastructure.
“You challenge Pencom and Ministry of Finance, you will discover that over N3.5 trillion was drawn down by the previous government from pension funds to support recurrent expenditure.
“Not to support infrastructure.
“There have been probes, there have been revelations where whistle blowers have been removed from office, they became guilty for speaking out.
“I believe time will tell how much was taken and who was involved.
“I think what you are hearing now is like appetizer.
“It’s sickening.
“It used to come from America, now its British.”
Governor Oshiomhole said he was happy with the turn of events under the present administration because, according to him, sanity was beginning to find its way back to the Nigerian society where people had been benefiting from idleness and indolence.
“I’m the happiest person because I’ve been in government for seven years without being in power.
“I was in government, I couldn’t call a Commissioner of Police and talk as a security officer, I’m haunted by all manners of persons.
“You kill a snake in Edo, they will put the snake on life support in Abuja and they keep harassing us.
“Now all those venoms are dead and buried.
“For the first time, I’m excited and happy not just for personal benefit, but for the changes I’m beginning to see.
“They’ve not started scrutinizing.
“Just blocking the holes.
“It’s no longer flowing like before and so the propensity to indulge in those fraudulent habits already curbing themselves.”
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