Sovereign Wealth Fund divides Governors’ Forum

Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum is divided over the setting up of the Sovereign Wealth Fund by the Federal Government, investigations have revealed.

Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on May 11 in Ethiopia, said the fund would begin operation in the next few months.

The minister spoke in spite of a case at Supreme Court, where the state governments were challenging the legality of the Excess Crude Account and the central government’s transfer of $1bn from the account to the SWF.

Sources said the take-off of the SWF was being threatened by the hard stance of states governed by opposition parties.

A source said, “There is a serious problem now as regards the Sovereign Wealth Fund because the state governors have come out to reject it. So as it is now, we don’t know what the next step will be for the Federal Government.

“Already, the take -off of the fund has been politicised and some of the governors especially the ones from ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria) are vehemently kicking against it. I know for a fact that a recruitment process for the management of the fund has been concluded but I don’t know what the specific next step for the take-off of the fund is.

“The position of the governors is that the law setting up the SWF is inferior to the constitution and based on this, their argument is that all money accruing the to federation must be shared.”

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, an ACN governor, who spoke through the Commissioner for Inforrnmation and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere, said the plan by the FG was executive lawlessness.

He said, “Osun and 28 others states went to the Supreme Court to challenge the FG for manipulating the excessive crude fund and non remission of money due to the account.

“The state demanded that the should pay to the local government councils and states all dues to them without any deduction.

“What the Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Oknjo-Iweakla, is doing is inconsistent with the rule of law. Why must the FG act unilaterally on an issue before the highest court in the land?”

Another ACN governor, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State objected to the planned implementation of SWF.

Fayemi, who spoke with one of our correspondents through his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye, said it was the FG’s insistence to go ahead with the commencement of the SWF despite that governors had taken the case to court showed that the FG did not believe in the rule of law.

He said, “It is an indication that the FG does not believe in the rule of law. The government is yet to convince Nigerians.

“My governor will not support what will undermine the commonwealth of Nigerians in general and Ekiti people in particular. The governors have taken the case to court but the Federal Government is insisting on going ahead with the implementation of fund. The governors are not in support of the sovereign wealth fund.”

But the Director-General of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr. Asishana Okauru, said the governors were not in disagreement with the Federal Government on the SWF.

The NGF is dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party governors, who are 23, compared to ACN five, the All Progressive Grand Alliance’s two; the Conference for Progressive Change, one and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, three.

Okauru, who spoke in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, said though the governors had issues on the funding of the SWF, the situation had changed since then.

Also, the Enugu State Government said it would not take a personal decision to support or object to the implementation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

The state government spoke through Governor Sullivan Chime’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Chukwudi Achife.

He said, “Governor Chime cannot have an independent opinion whether to support or kick against the implementation of the SWF.