Finance Commissioners Walkout Of FAAC Meeting

The Federal Accounts and Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting on Thursday ended in a deadlock as State Commissioners of Finance staged a walkout on the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Yerima Ngama.

The walkout by the State Commissioners of Finance may affect State, most of who rely on federal allocations to carry out their statutory responsibilities.


In the past two months, FAAC meetings have unusually extended beyond the usual periods set for it.

The visibly angry Commissioners said the Minister had continuously treated them with disrespect which they could no longer continue to tolerate.

According to the Chairman, Forum of Finance Commissioners, Mr. Timothy Odah, they would no longer condone a situation where decisions and resolutions of FAAC are not implemented.

Mr. Odah said, "We have endured enough of this insult and disrespect from the Minister of State for Finance, Dr, Yerima Ngama, especially the non implementation for the May, 2013 plenary session which have remained inconclusive base on the fact that the arrears of February was not paid and no cogent reason was given for that, noting that the augmentation passed at last month (May) was not also paid".

He continued, "This month’s account based on the report we had from the respective Accountant Generals of our states, it appears to be uncertain on reality. We had taken a lot of disappointment from the administration of the current leadership of FAAC which by all indications has become a great failure".

"We represent our various states and local governments and cannot be pushed around anyhow. Contractors handling various state projects have to be paid, salaries as well, the various programmes and projects of states and local government must be financed".

"We use this occasion to call on the President and the Governors to have a meeting with a view to resolving the misunderstanding".

Part of the Commissioners grievance is the decision by the federal government to deny them the withdrawal of another N1billion from the Excess Crude Account which the federal government fear will further deplete the, even as they were adamant that N160 billion owe them by the federal government must be paid before they can attend any other meeting. 

Another Commission who did not want his name in print accused the Minister of disrespecting them, disclosed that some of the commissioners had been in Abuja for the past seven days with little or no attention from Mr. Ngama.