• That is the sad tale of Nigerian states that maintain executive aircraft but can’t pay salaries
It is no secret that the vast majority of Nigeria’s 36 states are today financially crippled; and are unable to discharge their obligations to the citizenry.
Nothing better demonstrates this predicament than the inability of most of them to pay salaries and allowances of their workers for several months now. So bad had things degenerated that the Federal Government has been forced to bail out the affected states through a lifeline loan of approximately N804.7 billion to enable them clear the backlog of unpaid salaries.
The plight of the states has been attributed largely to the drastic fall in accruals to the Federation Account following the crash in international oil prices, which has implied a huge reduction in the monthly allocations to the various levels of government.
Matters were worsened by the inept and opaque management of the Federation Account by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, particularly the large scale theft of the country’s crude oil; and the phenomenal corruption which saw the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) illegally withholding humongous amounts that should have been remitted to the government coffers for distribution as constitutionally stipulated.
However, a substantial number of the states have also been the architects of their current financial misfortune through sundry acts of corrupt enrichment, profligacy, complacency, poverty of imagination and sheer misplacement of priorities. This has been responsible for their continued dependency on Federal allocations rather than creatively enhancing their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base.
Reports that two Embracer ERJ 145 aircraft purchased by the Taraba State government at an estimated cost of $42 million (N8.3 billion) have been lying idle at the Abuja and Kaduna airports since they were bought about four years ago exemplifies the kind of reckless expenditure and poor prioritisation characteristic of the states.
The aircraft purportedly purchased for the proposed Air Taraba were reportedly abandoned due to the political crisis in the state following the air crash involving former Governor Danbaba Suntai. Apart from the loss of an estimated N3.3 billion in probable revenues due to the grounding of the planes, aviation experts reckon that it will cost no less than N2.1 billion to service and make the planes airworthy once again.
Now, the question is, does it make any sense for a poverty-challenged state like Taraba to invest in an airline business, rather than focusing on basic infrastructure and poverty alleviation programmes in health, education, rural roads, water supply, agriculture and other critical areas that affect the majority of the people?
This is particularly so as Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, reportedly has only an airstrip and not a full-fledged airport with the capacity to accommodate the planes purchased.
What really is the rate of air traffic between Taraba and the rest of Nigeria and other parts that would make an Air Taraba a viable proposition? Even if it had potentials of profitability, should the state government not have encouraged private sector investment in the business instead of getting directly involved, given the country’s dismal experience with state-run businesses?
In the same vein, the reported discovery of an aircraft belonging to the Bauchi State government in Morocco has recently generated considerable controversy. Governor Mohammed Abubakar insinuates that the plane found its way to Morocco in suspicious and opaque circumstances. But his predecessor, Isa Yuguda, cries foul. His handover notes, he claims, clearly explained that the aircraft owned by the Bauchi State government, but currently on lease to Overland Airways, is in Morocco for routine checks and maintenance.
Still, should owning an aircraft for whatever reason be the priority of a state where the basic needs of life elude the vast majority of the people?
If this pattern of expenditure is not curbed, most states will remain perpetually unviable and fiscally vulnerable. If struggling states spend their little resources on useless projects, how can they ever get out of the poverty loop?
Such irresponsible behaviours should no longer be tolerated — and the time to stop is now.