By Alabi Williams / posted 26 August 2024 | 4:21 am
During the protests to end hunger and bad governance, there were desperate and poorly coordinated attempts by the federal information managers to deflect citizens’ anger at state governors.
In his August 4th address to calm the storm of hunger protests, President Tinubu had said states were given N570 billion to expand livelihood support to their citizens, while 600,000 nano-businesses have benefitted from nano-grants, with additional 400,000 more nano-businesses expected to benefit soon. Government’s media, conventional and social swooped on that information and began to share, with a view to persuading citizens. It didn’t work.
Indeed, states and local governments’ share of allocations since the tax on petroleum was introduced on May 29, 2023, have increased significantly. Indeed, states have earned a lot more since then, because resources that should be in citizens pockets and businesses have been forcefully channeled to pay for petrol as well as deal with the consequential increase in prices of other goods and services. Even the so-called nano-businesses are closing shop; they can no longer survive under the excruciating cost of doing business.
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Citizens are aware that states and the Federal Government are engaged in an unholy alliance to punish them with endless hardship. And they are aware that the policies that inflict economic pains are formulated and dictated by the Federal Government.
States are merely replicating and redistributing the pains. Someone said citizens should protest against governors, but that never happened. The protests were carried out in states. It is only the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that is directly managed by the Federal Government, and it got its fair share.
It is a fact that states were not consulted when the current petrol tax was announced, even though they loved it. If there was anything governors earnestly yearned for, it was the day subsidy on petrol was removed. They campaigned for it for many years and on June 7, 2023, they expressed strong support for President Bola Ahmed’s decision to end fuel subsidy. At their Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) meeting on that day, they spoke in one accord with a promise to assist to ameliorate the short-term impact of the new tax.
On that occasion, Tinubu told the governors: “We are a family occupying one house and sleeping in different rooms. If we see it that way and push forward, we will get our people out of poverty. A determined mind is a fertile ground for delivering results.”
President Tinubu loves to act and sound like a motivational speaker, but the governors didn’t prove they were motivated. Instead, they went home and did little to justify their increased allocations. Very little was done by them to ameliorate the impact of petrol tax, as they promised.
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By June 2024, they had collectively pushed the people into misery while they shared more money. At the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), meeting this August, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the three tiers shared N1,358.075 trillion, as allocation for July 2024.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, there is notable increase in allocations since the fuel tax was imposed. In the first five months of 2024, they shared a total of N10.13 trillion as statutory allocations, representing a 179 per cent increase over that of 2023. Big money, even though the naira has lost significant value due to wrong-headed policies designed to impress the IMF/World Bank.
These facts are in the public domain. The desperate attempt to represent them during the end hunger protests was misplaced, not because they are not true but because the Federal Government that initiated the policies is unwilling to take responsibility. Besides, there are no serious economic reforms to compel and enable states increase their internally generated revenue (IGR.)
Those with capacity for farming have challenges of insecurity to grapple with. Those that have desire to industrialise cannot because the fiscal environment does not support local industries. Even traders who import items are struggling to cope with high port duties and multiple charges.
The Customs are on overdrive to meet targets that are invariably paid for by taxpayers. The priority for this government is to expand federal revenues and share to states and local governments, thus sustaining a rental system that has only worked for the political class.
In this heedless drive for increased revenue, the components of accountability and transparency are absent. The components of local industry, ports expansion beyond Lagos, to enable other states maximise their potentials don’t seem to be priorities in the reforms. Even the oil and gas, the only economic lifeline for now, is mired in stories of manipulations, acquisitions and rumours of sleaze. All that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA,) was put together to achieve are now lost in what looks like gang-wars to take over territories and resources.
Bad governance and hunger in states and local governments begin with a Federal Government that is not transparent in the management of resources and information. States are looking up to a central government to set example in transparency and probity.
A government of the federation that thinks it does not owe citizens explanations cannot expect state governments to owe explanation to their people and for the FG to attempt to instigate citizens against states can only amount to self-flagellation. At the appropriate time, if this nonsense continues, there will be recompense for state governors.
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The 1999 Constitution gave too much legroom for the president and governors to misbehave and be reckless. The moral high ground and integrity quotient required to manage this latitude is loosely defined, unfortunately. Political office holders enjoy immunity and even when that cover expires, they acquire political protection and are left to enjoy their misbegotten retirement in bliss.
When former President Obasanjo confronted this menace, between 1999 and 2007, he was encouraged through global intelligence to initiate reforms that demanded accountability from politically expose persons, especially governors.
He encouraged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to scrutinise the activities of governors.
Towards the end of that regime, the EFCC under Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, now National Security Adviser (NSA), to President Tinubu, had investigated and released dossiers on governors who had financial crimes cases to answer.
Some were tried and found guilty. Some applied for plea bargain and returned part of the looted funds. Two went to jail but their sins were forgiven by President Buhari, in the exercise of the Prerogative of Mercy, a constitutional provision. Others are lounging in the National Assembly.
One was convicted after the Court of Appeal found him guilty, but because the judge had been elevated by the time of the ruling, even though the President of the Court of Appeal at the time gave approval, the Supreme Court reversed it. The ranking Senator and former governor is a top leader of today’s ruling party.
The point is that the Federal Government is constitutionally empowered to deal with erring governors who fail to deliver good governance to the people, through acts of omission or commission. Within constitutional provisions, former President Obasanjo enabled the EFCC to bring down a former Inspector General of Police. When the Governor of Plateau State at the time, Joshua Dariye, had difficulty securing the state, Obasanjo applied the instrument of state of emergency in October 2004. When governance was challenged in Ekiti State in 2006, the Federal Government intervened with another emergency rule.
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States are generously accorded constitutional recognition and protection as the second tier of government, which is why some governors operate as emperors.
If they get away with it while still under immunity, the Federal Government always has the upper hand to pursue them when they’re out of office, using institutions of state for the overall good of the country.
If Nigerians feel the provisions that allow the Federal Government to demand accountability is authoritarian, they can call for amendments. For now, that is what it is. The challenge is that the Federal Government has to first demonstrate integrity.
What today’s ruling party has done is to set bad example for governors on matters of transparency accountability. Top functionaries of government have cases with EFCC and ICPC, yet, they’re making laws and discharging other responsibilities. No qualms.
The most detailed information citizens got on the new presidential jet was after the seizure of three planes belonging to Nigeria in France, by a Chinese company. The campaign to acquire a new aircraft for the President was a hush-hush affair. There was no parliamentary debate, apart from a so-called recommendation by the Senate’s Security and Intelligence committee.
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Nigerians woke up last Monday, to hear that President Tinubu had flown to France in the new Airbus A330, with explanation by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that the new plane was bought far below the market price and would save Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly. Who asked him all that? What citizens needed to hear was details of what took Mr. President to France at the expense of taxpayers. But the Presidency’s communication strategy is to deploy obfuscation, intimidation and propaganda, to explain away impeachable offences.
What was the President doing in France? If he is indeed a democratically elected president, he is constitutionally bound to be accountable to the people. He has the responsibility to show state governors how to lead and use the resources they collect from FAAC judiciously and prudently.
Many governors also travel recklessly and aimlessly, in the name of looking for foreign investors. They have pocketed their legislatures the same way the Federal Government has pocketed the National Assembly. If the Federal Government had set positive examples for states, a phoney portfolio investor from China, India or wherever, will not dare look Nigeria in the eye.
Let President Tinubu make, not mar Nigeria!
Note: This article was first published by The Guardian Newspaper.
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