Politics

Governors fumes as Buhari accuses them of stealing LG funds

Published

1 year ago

December 2, 2022

Babs Ayandayo

Governors fumes as Buhari accuses them of stealing LG funds

Buhari has accused governors of stealing LG funds
Governors who felt pained replied to Buhari that they are not stealing LG funds

Some governors are already fuming as Buhari accused them of stealing local government council funds.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday claimed that governors misappropriate funding from local government councils.

The President emphasized the importance of personal integrity in the functioning of government during his extemporaneous remarks following his speech at the presidential parley for the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) at the White House.

However, governors who responded to the President’s direct accusation yesterday claimed they were not involved in the misappropriation of funding for local governments.

Governor of Benue State Samuel Ortom, David Umahi of Ebonyi State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Solomon Lalong of Plateau State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, and Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike are among those who responded.

Speaking at the event, President Buhari cited a personal experience involving an unnamed governor, to explain the corrupt practices perpetrated by some governors in dispensing resources meant for local councils’ administration.

READ ALSO: ASUU to Buhari: Sack Ngige now

According to him, it is beyond comprehension how certain governors amassed funds on behalf of council areas in their states just to distribute half of those funds to the council chairmen, who would further deplete the remittance by stealing it.

President Buhari compared the incident to the issue of lack of integrity in the character of many people holding positions of authority like governors and chairmen of local governments, saying that such actions are reprehensible and spoke of the height of corruption in the nation.

He said: “If the monies from the Federal Government to state governments is N100 million, N50 million will be sent to the chairman, with a letter that he will sign that he received N100 million.

“The governor will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wanted to and then the chairman of the local government will see how much he must pay in salaries. To hell goes development. Monies for the salaries will be given and the balance he will put in his pocket. This is what is happening.

“This is Nigeria, it’s a terrible thing, You cannot say the person, who was doing these was educated. He was a qualified lawyer, he was experienced, yet he participated in this type of corruption.

He claimed that these activities displayed the type of unscrupulous behavior that is currently indicative of Nigeria in the distribution of funds intended for local council administrations, hurting progress.

In his speech, Buhari expressed his congratulations to the Senior Executive Course 44 students on finishing their program successfully. He urged them to revitalize and reenergize leadership at all levels of institutions.

“So it’s a matter of conscience, whichever level we find ourselves. As a leader, you sit here, with all the sacrifices the country is making by putting you through institutions and getting you ready to lead. The fundamental thing is personal integrity. May God help us.”

He pledged that the recommendations contained in the presentation of SEC 44 would be painstakingly studied by the government, with a view to implementing them.

Declaring that his administration had done so much in building trust between the government and the people, the President noted that the report would largely assist in the provision of good governance to the people at the grassroots levels and by extension, win back their trust in government.

“It is obvious that government cannot afford to pay lip service to the recommendations contained in this report.

“I assure you that the report will be treated with the seriousness and urgency it deserves. The government will study the report, with a view to implementing the carefully detailed recommendations,” he said.

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Governors fumes as Buhari accuses them of stealing LG funds

Politics

Governors fumes as Buhari accuses them of stealing LG funds

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