The controversy trailing the recent approval of $1 billion from Extra Crude Account by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) to the Federal Government in its prosecution of the war against the Boko Haram insurgency is quite understandable.
Apart from being unilateral, the NGF has no right to approve such huge money in the prosecution of a war the government claimed the adversaries have been technically defeated without the knowledge of the National Assembly.
The NGF is not an approval authority on fiscal matters. Any money that belongs to the Federation, whether in Federation Account or ECA, belongs to the three tiers of government, local, state and federal. That is why such moneys are disbursed monthly among the three tiers of government and published in some national dailies for public perusal.
Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State and some other PDP governors are not in agreement with other governors (mostly APC) on the approval. That is why the approval is generating much heat in the polity. In fact, the 16 Ekiti council bosses have sued the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice and 36 governors for approving the withdrawal of the $1 billion from the ECA for the war against insurgency.
The council bosses are asking for an order restraining the Federal Government and the governors of the 36 states of the federation or their agents from giving effect to the appropriation and/or approval of appropriation of the $1 billion from the ECA of the Federation.
But the Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, has stoutly defended the NGF decision and said that this is not the first time such money is being approved by the NGF. Yari pointed out that $2 billion was approved in 2014 to fight insurgency during Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s era. It must be noted that Jonathan’s $2 billion was approved by the National Assembly, a condition the current one is yet to meet.
In everything we do, especially now that we are in a regime that came to power on the mantra of integrity, the rule of law and due process must be followed. We cannot continue to say that we are fighting corruption and yet condone abuse of due process. If additional money is needed for the war against the insurgents, the appropriate approving authority is the National Assembly and not the NGF.
It is good that Nigerians are raising critical questions over the manner of this approval of fund by the NGF when most of the funds for the 2017 budget have not been utilized and very soon, the 2018 appropriation bill will be approved. Our budgets since 1999, for instance, have not been fully implemented especially with regard to capital projects.
Government owes Nigerians a duty to explain how our budgets are being implemented. We need quarterly briefing on the performance of the budget, ministry by ministry. Such updates have become necessary before extra-budget is approved in the case of the war against terrorism.
Regardless of who is right or wrong between Fayose and Yari on the matter, Nigerians are worried that such huge amount is being approved when we are approaching the 2019 general election. They are apprehensive because the $2 billion approved for Jonathan was not fully accounted for as recent revelations have unearthed.
Nigerians are afraid that another dollar bazaar will soon be enacted by the current political actors. That is why they are shouting blue murder and asking penetrating questions. The explanation by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, that the money is not only for Boko Haram war alone but for all security challenges in the entire country, is belated and does not make any difference.
Osinbajo’s intervention would not have come if Nigerians have not heavily criticized the approval of such big money. In fact, the mounting criticisms made Osinbajo to offer the explanations. Such clarification should have come earlier.
The explanation also contradicts the NGF statement that the money was for the war against insurgency in the North-East. This notwithstanding, the next poser is why vote such hefty amount of money for a war the government has technically won, according to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed?
The Federal Government should come up clean and clear with details of what it needs the $1 billion for. Government must be truthful in its assessment of the war against the insurgents and stop making claims that it has technically defeated the insurgents. The situation on the ground does not support government’s victory claims on the terror war. Rather, the insurgents are resurging with great fury and terror against hapless citizens in the North-East region.
There is no doubt that the war against the insurgents needs to be reinvigorated the more with weapons and logistics. In fact, the general security architecture of the country needs to be upgraded from time to time. Such should not wait until there is an emergency. But in all things, Nigerians are asking for probity and accountability. Nigerians do not want the tax payers’ money to be fritted away in a bazaar fashion.
The Federal Government must assure Nigerians of its sincerity to deploy the said amount, if finally approved by the National Assembly, to only security matters and not for election.
Another term for Service Chiefs
For the third time, the tenure of the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs has been renewed by President Muhammadu Buhari. Defence spokesman, Col. Tukur Gusau, said the extension was in pursuant of the powers conferred on the president by Section 218 (1) (2) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 09.06 of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of service for Officers (2012) revised.
Agreed that the President has the right and powers to renew the tenure of service chiefs, such should not be done to stifle the growth of officers behind them. It should not be done to exclude a section of the country from the top security architecture of the country. The renewal of service chiefs should not be a permanent feature for those at the topmost position in the military.
Those due for retirement must be retired to pave way for others to get there. Anything done in the right proportion is good but too much of everything is bad. We cannot continue to have the same people when they are due to give way for others to come on board. The culture of perpetuity or indispensability should not be allowed to thrive in such postings. New people should be given the chance whenever there is opportunity to do so.