By Mary Bassey
The Cross River State Governor, Sen. Ben Ayade has kicked against the claim of the $500 million funds by the Federal Government.
According to the Chairman of the Revenue Allocation Mobilization and Fiscal Commission, RAMFAC, Mr. A. M. Shehu, on Channels Television’s Sunrise Program alleged that the Federal Government pays $500 million monthly as stabilization fund to the State for the ceding of Bakassi Peninsula and the attendant loss of oil wells.
Governor Ayade in a statement denied the allegation. He said, “We strongly believe the Commission’s Chairman misspoke because as a State we are not aware of, and have never received $500 million as a stabilization fund from the Federal Government.
“We are, therefore, calling on the RAMFAC Chairman to correct this faux pas, which has caused the State Government considerable embarrassment. If Mr. Shehu was referring to $500 million as against the $500 million which he claimed, so there is nothing new about it.
“The said fund has been in existence since 2008, long before the coming to office of Governor Ben Ayade-led administration. Is it not ridiculous that while the RAMFAC Chairman was gleefully mentioning $500 million as a monthly stabilization fund to the State, which is not true, he failed to mention that the same Federal Government deducts between 1.6 to 2 billion Naira from Cross River State monthly allocations, thus making nonsense of the said $500 million monthly stabilization fund?”
This release with reference no. GO/PRESS/012/VOLI/ 38 was signed by the Special Adviser, Media, and Publicity to the Governor, Mr. Christian Ita.
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