Nigeria and some French-speaking members led by Cote d’Ivoire are on the war path at the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) Commission in Abuja over an alleged plan to include the sum of 1.2 million CFA for the office of the president of the commission for hosting meetings in the sub-regional body’s budget for 2013.
A reliable source at the commission said the request on the face value does not spark any alarm bell, “but when you review the request against the fact that there is conventionally a provision in the budget of the commission a line item to enable the country of the president of the commission to host meetings.”
Nigeria is allegedly opposed to the request made by Cote d’Ivoire at the just-concluded budget session in Abuja, on the ground that it amounted to double budgeting, a stance that angered the delegation from Cote d’Ivoire.
According to our source who was at the budget session, the development divided the meeting into two blocs with Nigeria leading the English-speaking and Cote d’Ivoire receiving support of the French speaking countries.
“What happens is that the country supplying the president of the commission is provided huge sums in the budget to be able to host meetings on behalf of the president in country, but this hardly happens because most of the meetings are ultimately financed by the ECOWAS Commission through the National Secretariat in the president’s country.
So, the money budgeted for that purpose is often never spent hosting the meeting,” our source said, adding “it is to stem this kind of waste in the system that Nigeria put her feet down this time, especially as a financial audit of the commission’s account revealed several cases of misapplication of funds and outright embezzlement.”
Feelers from the commission point to a major plot to further weaken Nigeria’s influence and power at the commission.