How corrupt governors rendered Nigeria useless

– Former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has called out governors who live in affluenace yet expect the citizens to sacrifice as a result of the hard times.

– He revealed this on Monday, February 1, during his speech at the inaugural conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy.

– The conference held at the University of Ibadan.

Obasanjo warns state governors

Former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has called out governors who live in affluence yet expect the citizens to sacrifice as a result of the hard times.

According to The Sun, he revealed this on Monday, February 1, during his speech at the inaugural conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy.

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The conference held at the University of Ibadan.

The past president also added that he had long discovered the level of corruption in the Nigerian system which led him to put in place anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as well as the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission.

He noted that the governors were all paying lip service to the issue of making sacrifices to better the nation.

The former president asked for an overhaul of the system in which the fundamental issues of corruption are addressed.

“Leaders who call for sacrifice from the citizenry cannot be living in obscene opulence. We must address these foundational issues to make the economy work, to strengthen our institutions, build public confidence in government and deal with our peace and security challenges,” he said.

“Nigeria is a country where some governors have become sole administrators, acting like emperors. These governors have rendered public institutions irrelevant and useless.

“Is there development work going on in the 774 constitutionally recognised local government councils, which have been merely appropriated as private estates of some governors?

“Some governors have hijacked the resources of the local governments and this has crippled the developments of the local government councils in the country. The National Assembly must also open its budgets to public scrutiny.”

Chief Obasanjo also weighed in on the issue of oil price in the international market as well as the need to address Nigeria’s current fiscal problems.

“The drastic fall in the price of oil in the international market has unraveled the weakness of governance in Nigeria. The Minister of Finance has recently announced that the 2016 budget deficit may be increased from the current N2.2 trillion in the draft document before the National Assembly, to N3 trillion due to decline in the price of crude oil.”

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He added that “If the current fiscal challenge is not creatively addressed, Nigeria may be on its way to another episode of debt overhang which may not be good for the country.”

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