Niger Delta Leaders Used Oil Money as ‘Pocket Money,’ Says Masari

The Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, has said Niger Delta leaders must come clean on how they have spent oil money allocated to the region over the years.

“For six years,” Masari said: “We had a Niger Delta president. Let us see what difference he made in six years when he was president. When the excess crude account became pocket money, how much of the money went to the Niger Delta?”

In an interview with the current edition of The Interview, Masari called out Niger Delta leaders, challenging them to “come clean” on how they have managed the region’s resources.
According to a statement by the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of the magazine, Mr. Azu Ishiekwene, “the interview features Masari firing all cylinders. He took on Senate President Saraki, explained why Obasanjo’s third term bid failed, and spoke, at length for the first time, on ‘budget padding.’ And then, he removed his gloves on his predecessor, Ibrahim Shema, and the Niger Delta.”

Although Masari did not name names, the reference to a Niger Delta president was apparently pointing to Goodluck Jonathan, the immediate past president, under whose presidency oil price averaged $100 per barrel.

Asked what he did to ensure accountability of oil money when he was Speaker of the House of Representatives and also a ranking member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the time, Masari said, “The House of Representatives has been friendly to the people of the Niger Delta than any other institution in the country.”

He asked the federal government to publish how much the region has received since the 13 per cent derivation started.

The resurgence of violence in the Niger Delta by the Avengers in since last year has led to massive losses in the country’s oil revenue and peace efforts have stalled.
It would be recalled that only over the weekend, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said the federal government had spent over $40billion in the Niger Delta in the past 12 years.

The issue also contains detailed interviews with Chioma Ajunwa and the world’s most famous foodies, the Roca Brothers.