by Ranti Joseph

The two major political parties of the House of Representatives, the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress, on Tuesday, February 3 clashed over the N30tn alleged to have either been stolen or mismanaged under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan till date.

This allegation was made on Monday, February 2 in a widely curculated article by a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Charles Chukwuma Soludo where he wrote on the alleged mismanagement of the Nigerian economy under Jonathan’s watch.

The House caucuses held opposing views on the matter, while the APC caucus demanded an immediate investigation into the allegation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the PDP caucus simply dismissed it as a wild, baseless and unsubstantiated allegation.

The House Minority Leader and caucus leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, while speaking on behalf of the APC,  said the magnitude of the amount involved should cause sleepless nights for any government stating that aside being a renowned economist, Soludo served as the governor of the CBN and was in a position to know the financial dealings of the Federal Government.

“It is a common knowledge that our economy has been leaking profusely over the years due to mismanagement and outright theft. However, no one could have imagined the magnitude and volume as suggested by Soludo. Now, because he is a former CBN governor and an internationally-acclaimed economist, he should know and be taken serious,” Gbajabiamila said.

He called on the EFCC to investigate the allegation, saying: “This will be the biggest case of economic and financial crime for which the EFCC was established to look into. Ignoring this allegation makes everyone or authority in Nigeria that keeps quiet an accessory, after the fact and just as guilty if the crime is established.”

The Deputy House Majority Leader, Leo Ogor, stated that he was surprised to hear an economist of Soludo’s status make such an allegation.

He opined that Soludo’s article appeared more like a product of guess work and unsubstantiated figures than anything that should be taken seriously.

Ogor claimed that anybody with the intent of running down a government could easily put figures together and make them appear so convincing explaining that when such figures and allegations were subjected to investigation, the person making the allegation will become tongue-tied.

“Our laws stipulate clearly that he who makes allegations must be prepared to show proof. Sometimes, some of these our so-called technocrats that have turned politicians overnight are seeking relevance. It is even more embarrassing coming from somebody like Soludo. He should go the extra mile to provide all the documents or we should just ignore him and concentrate on good governance as we are already doing,” he said.

He further dismissed any call to investigate the allegation, saying that Soludo’s article had no basis at all.

He claimed that the House in particular would not consider such a move because there was no evidence before it suggesting that N30tn was either stolen or unaccounted for by the Jonathan administration. “We don’t probe unnecessary allegations. We have been carrying out our budget oversight on all government bodies.

“There is nowhere we have this evidence. This is merely intended to divert attention and it should be quickly ignored,” he added.