ANPP to FG: Don't Share Excess Crude Oil Proceeds
From Chuks Okocha in Abuja
National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Chief Don Etiebet, has advised the Federal Government not to share the proceeds of the crude oil windfall, but use the money to shore up the Naira and improve the sliding economy.
According to him, "My candid advice to the Federal Government is that the proceeds of the crude oil windfall should not be shared.
"The best thing to do is that since the windfall will not be forever, after sometime, the price will go down as low as $14 per barrel, so the best alternative is to use the proceeds to shore up the Naira, improve the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), increase the purchasing power and the per capita income of Nigerians, because the economy is very bleak. The future matters most to all of us."
Etiebet lamented that the price of crude oil has been on the increase, regretting that Nigeria has nothing to show for it.
"Today, we enjoy the increase, it is better we use the windfall to strengthen the economy and make the Naira stronger, this is better than sharing it. It could be used to improve our infrastructure and the bad roads," he said.
Etiebet also called on government to grant general amnesty to Nigerians outside the country, so as to encourage them bring back their wealth, which he put at over $100 billion.
Said the ANPP chairman, "when over 50 percent of the money held by Nigerians abroad is brought back to the country and invested in the economy, there is nothing more than investment. Charity begins at home, if foreign investors see Nigerians reinvesting their money in Nigeria, then they will have the confidence to come and invest in Nigeria.
"I say a general amnesty, because whether the money is legally gotten or otherwise, there is the need for them to feel protected and this will cause a multiplier effect in the economy."
On why the 19 Northern Governors and two Southwest governors went to court to seek abrogation of the Onshore/Offshore Dichotomy law, Etiebet said, "the Niger Delta region is the golden hen that lays the golden egg, but it has a record of a very poor infrastructural development. The roads are bad and it was for this reason government introduced the 13 percent derivation and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the purposes of cushioning the hardship of the people as well as reducing youth restiveness."
According to him, "But what do we get in return, excessive wastage of the funds with an increased youth restiveness. This brings about security problem and the basic aim of the NDDC and the 13 percent derivation is being defeated. So, when Nigerians see a Niger Delta governor taking a monthly allocation of over N5 billion with the local government allocation, bringing the monthly allocation to N6 billion, it then brings envy.
According to Etiebet, "the governors being human beings, they are hurt, they are envious of us in the Niger Delta, so this could be one of the reasons why they went to court to get the law abrogated and let the Federal Government manage the fund, instead of the governors."
On ANPP position on the suit, Etiebet said, "the position of the party, is that we are talking to our governors, these allocations should be used to quell the violence in the region and not the rampant mismanagement we see every day."
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