The Centre for Anti-Corruption
and Open Leadership, CACOL, has urged the two anti-graft agencies: the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices
and other related offences Commission, ICPC, to wade into allegations of
financial impropriety levelled by some of the states’ newly sworn-in governors
against their predecessors.
CACOL mentioned former Governor
of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha; former Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed
Abubakar and Senator Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State as some of the past governors
that the anti-graft agencies should go after without further delay.
A press release made available by CACOL’s Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, on Monday read: “Since
the assumption of office by many of the newly sworn-in governors at the various
states in the country on May 29, 2019, some of the governors have cried out
over the ridiculous spending attributable to their predecessors with nothing
concrete and tangible to show for it.
“In many of these states where
their governors have made noise to the general public and relevant
anti-corruption agencies, we would derelict if we claimed we did not see this
coming.
“Take for instance, a state like
Imo state with its worrisome state of public health institutions and public
schools, yet the then governor, Rochas Okorocha embarked on building gigantic
statutes of certain public figures, some of whom were not leaders in this country
and even standing trial for corruption in their own country like Jacob Zuma of
South Africa.
“The current governor of the
state, Rt. Honourable Emeka Ihedioha has alleged also spent billions on road
rehabilitations, etc., with only potholes and gashes littering the entire
state.’
“In similar vein, the incumbent
governor of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed, has accused his predecessor, Mohammed
Abubakar of spending N2.3bn (Two Billion, Three Hundred Million Naira) on
burial alone in the between January and May (a period of 5 months) this year
alone. According to the Spokesman to the governor, Dr. Ladan Salihu, there were
other cases of ‘venal and spurious spending’ that show daylight robbery of the
people’s commonwealth.’
“Not long ago, the current
governor of Oyo state, Engineer Seyi Makinde, accused his predecessor, Senator
Abiola Ajimobi of profligacy spending bordering on corruption and carting away
of over 30 (Thirty) exotic vehicles worth billions of Naira belonging to
different ministries and parastatals in the state.
“He has vowed to set up a probe
panel to unearth the amount involved in clear corruption cases involving the
government under his predecessor. All this only confirms our fear as expressed
indifferent releases, publications, etc., that corruption walks in all fours in
most of the states within the Nigerian federation as little or nothing could be
shown by the states’ governments for the humongous federal allocations they
received, monthly and quarterly, from the federation accounts.
“Instead of embarking on
developmental and innovative projects that could not just bail their states out
of undue dependency; they literally squandered most of the resources at their
disposal while workers were owed months, and in certain instances, years of
salary while even the bailouts from the Federal government are also not spared
from their expropriating tendencies.
“While the consequences of the
current governors in those states where the treasury was blatantly looted not
probing their predecessors are grievous, we implore the nation’s anti-graft
agencies, the ICPC and the EFCC, to immediately spring into action by setting
up their internal committee, if such were not in existence already, to probe
all financial dealings of these ex-governors with a view to bringing culprits
into book and recovering much of the stolen wealth.
“This would not only allow the
incumbent governors to get down to serious issues of governance and delivering
on their campaign promises to their people; it would also make available to
them such despoiled scarce resources and serve as a deterrent to future looting
of the commonwealth.”
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