Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has said that lack of accountability on the part of Federal Government agencies responsible for the collection of the nation’s revenue especially from oil and not the perceived ineffective management of the Appropriation Act 2013 by the Federal Government, was responsible for the nose-diving of the country’s revenue earnings.
Governor Uduaghan who fielded questions from journalists in Lagos particularly singled out the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) for blame for the nation’s dwindling fortune in revenue earnings.
He decried the persistent drop in revenue when in fact the Federal Government had plugged leakages in oil production, advising that Nigerians should hold the NNPC responsible for any revenue short fall.
He noted that as the chairman of the presidential committee on Oil Theft, he was aware that measures were taken that resulted in the reduction of the loss of oil form over 400,00barrels per day to about 80,000 barrels per day.
The Governor therefore wondered how the revenue accruing to the country can be dwindling at the time that most of the leakages have been blocked.
“It is not about the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala or the counterpart in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani
Allison- Madueke. It is the issue of accountability on the part of federal government agencies that collect revenue on behalf of the Federal Government”, the governor stated,
Barring his mind on calls for a sovereign national conference, the governor said there was need for dialogue and roundtable talk to address the different issues affecting Nigerians as a nation.
He backed the call for a national conference as against sovereign national conference saying: “there is need for us to talk, hear, understand and appreciate one another to iron out religious, security, economic, socio-political and regional challenges facing us as a nation”.
On the current challenges facing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governor Uduaghan expressed happiness with efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan at reconciling all aggrieved persons, saying the October 7 meeting of all sides to the disagreements in the party would bring unity to all concerned.
He appealed to Nigerians to nurture the nation’s democracy, stressing the need for the people of the Niger Delta to support President Jonathan’s presidency to succeed.