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Tag: jamboree

  • ‘Employment Trust Fund not for jamboree’

    ‘Employment Trust Fund not for jamboree’

    The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Mr. Akintunde Oyebode, in this chat with MUYIWA LUCAS, says the government’s purpose for the scheme is gradually coming to fruition.

    The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF)appears good. But people say it is difficult to access. Why is this so? Is there no way to access the fund?

    First, if I will be honest, the state has limited resources. This means that the most resilient applicants will scale through because we cannot support everyone. What we are committed to is that the process is transparent and unbiased.

    The point is, whatever pain Mr. A is going through to apply, Mr. B is also going through same. There is no preferential treatment for anybody. But from next year the process will be better structured because there will now be windows. What we have done this year is because there is a need to immediately roll out the scheme and reach out to as many people as possible. The loan is on a rolling basis, so every month we are approving applications. Going forward, we will be having windows- the application will close on a certain day and if you don’t apply then, it means you can’t apply for that quarter. But in terms of the requirements, it won’t change. We feel that we are lending without collateral and people must also meet at a certain level. This is not a grant.

     Is there any mechanism to monitor beneficiaries of your loans?

     Yes. We do some monitoring and we work with partner banks. It is a combination of both microfinance and commercial banks; so they do a lot of collections on our behalf and the monitoring. We also have partners, who from time to time go out on our behalf to monitor the business performance. So, we monitor in two ways- we do our own independently and then we have our bank partners, who help us collect and monitor.

    If someone takes N5million and pays back successfully, is it possible for him to get N10million?

    No. We have a regulatory limit. The best the person can do is come back for the same N5million, but where we really want to take business to is that we give a N100, 000, you pay back, we give you half a million, you pay back, we raise it to a million and, ultimately, to N5milion. Now for business that needs more, we now structure an introduction when we say for example, we send them to institutions like the Bank of Industry. We have limited resources and to reach many people that is why we peg it at N5m.

    There is the belief that the scheme is for All Progressive Congress (APC) members only. How true is this?

     To be honest people saying that are only mischievous. That kind of comments does not bother me again. Anyone, who has been through our process, will recognise that this is not based on party, religious, or ethnic affiliations. So, it is a straight forward process and there is a marking scheme- you either pass or you don’t. After that there are some requirements you have to meet. When people say that I always tell them that but you have not even tested the process. You are doing yourself some bad if you sit at home and assume that it is for political affiliations. I have been to 20 local governments and I have said it on radio, press interviews and the likes, and we say to you come and test the process if is different from what we said then go and embarrass us. We have a whistle blower hotline that is managed by KPMG.

    If you look at the ratio of beneficiaries there are Igbo, Yoruba and some Hausa and Southsouth and if you look at our team, we don’t care where you are from as long as you are competent and live in Lagos. There is no Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or party agenda, but of course, there will always be doubting Thomases.

    How long have you run the scheme? I mean a kind of appraisal? Please tell the whole world how far you have gone?

    As we speak, we wrote our first loan in January-February; from October we will be commissioning an independent inter assessments exercise for an independent body to come and say this is where people you helped are; before you come and this is where they are now; this is the impact we have seen on the programme; these are things we think you can do differently.

    So, we expect that by next quarter of next year we should have that report ready. It will also be useful because assessing the impact is what helps us to identify what we need to change. So, we are starting the exercise this year and we hope by first quarter of next year it will be ready for independent opinion, review and critics.

    How good is the repayment?

    Impressive. If we get similar or better repayment compare to banks, it will be a success because that will mean that we are lending to the right people. In terms of our loses today or what I will call our credit loses, it is still under 10 percent- it is about 5.5 per cent, which is pretty low. But we are not resting on that, we have to continue ensuring that we find the right people and we also drive out how we can collect from those people. One of the issues we face is that of willingness than ability and so, knowing that when they borrow they will be willing to repay and able to repay, that’s what it takes.

    So, it is finding those kind of people and ensuring that when they are unwilling, you have the collection mechanism tighten around them to show them that you can collect adequately. But for some people, who are defaulting on their loan now, some will be taken a set up on them, some will be charged to court to show an example that when you borrow from us, it is not a jamboree money because if you take a loan from us and you don’t repay, others will feel like why should they pay. So, we want to show people that there is a consequence for not repaying our loans, despite the low defaults rate.

    Of all Lagos State programmes, I think this particular one needs to be shown to the world because it has a kind of direct impact on the people. What do you think?

    That is it, and I think that is what we say with governance. One of the challenges is how does government impact the people. So, in some instances, when you can take much longer you will be able to see that in some cases like ours, if done correctly, you can see the impact in one to three years period. So, the government ‘s aim and the governor’s view is, the only way the government is not going to employ all those people coming out from university and secondary schools, who wont even be employed by even the large corporate, but primarily the small and medium size enterprises. Apart from the impact on the borrower, there is also the added impact of being able to create more jobs and employ more people.

    So far, how many have benefited from your scheme and what is the interest rate being charged?

    The interest rate is five per cent per year. In terms of numbers of people, we have approved loans to approximately 6,500 people, but the actual disbursed loan will be around 4,200 people . So, today 4,200 people have actually received their loans and put them into their businesses

    Do you have an insurance scheme for the loan?

     There is nowhere you can get a 100 per cent repayment on loan in Nigeria or anywhere in the world.  Nobody also assure credit risk, the insurance you get is on personal life, fire, burglary and theft or the person dies or permanent disability and he is unable to run the business.

    We insure against that; we insure against theft, burglary or property and the equipment. We do that type of insurance. We have some insurance that if something happens to you or the business premises, we will be able to recover money and we also give you the option to increase it if you want. So, if you want to increase the sum insured, that is up to you. But what we insure is up to the loan we give to you, anything in excess of that is now between you and the insurer, but the real point is and I think I have made that  clear, what determines success or failure is the selection process. So, if you introduce nepotism and sentiment in selecting people you have a higher rate of losing money because that information have a way of going out. People will know that if you bribe someone with N50,000 you will get the loan so if you pay someone that amount to get a loan, why will you pay back?

    By the time you complete the first year, how many people do you hope to have empowered?

    That is tricky to say. At this stage, we have done 6,000 loans maybe it will have gotten to 10,000-12,000 and this is not all we are doing. It is not just lending, the loan programme is just one of several programmes. We are doing some work with the UNDP at the moment where we are providing technical and vocational training to approximately to 16,000 people over the next two years and we are not providing the training for the sake of just training, but to at least, make sure 75 per cent of those people are placed in jobs.

    So, when you are through with the programme we place you on jobs. We are already talking to private sector employers to ask what are their needs, what skills do you need and what kind of professional level do you need? This is because when we train those people to that standard, they will automatically employ them. That is a completely different programme, that is not a loan programme, but an employee programme where another 16,000 people should be put to work over next two years.

    So, it is not a one-sided programme. And if you look at all the work going on around Yaba today, the eco-system is developing on its own without the government support, this is where the Kongas, the Jumia, Iroroko, and others have come out from- excellent business not only employing hundreds of people, but creating a platform for thousands of people to do their business.

    Just a passing short, you give loan without collateral? How do you secure them?

    You know the interesting thing is your first level of security is the quality of the person you are. If you give me a house today to collaterise your loan, how long do you think it will take me to recover the loan? If that loan goes bad how long do you think it will take to recover it? So, with our current state, we are in court for minimum of four years. Collaterals do not give you confidence. Collateral is only important at the point when the person has failed to pay. If you able to pick the right borrower, you don’t even need collaterals but one of the things we have done is that we will use social collateral. So, we ask these people to provide us with guarantors, who we can hold in the event if they don’t pay. We also have a right of setoff such that if they don’t pay we can use their BVN to check when they have money and set it up against their balances. Of course, that is the last resort position because to set it up we need a garnishee order, but we have that ability.

  • Big for nothing

    Big for nothing

    •Nigeria should not repeat last year’s UN General Assembly jamboree

    If it were not such a shocking shame, the honest observation that the country’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is usually wastefully bloated would qualify as just another evidence of laughable political administration.  What makes it even more depressingly worthy of attention is the source of the information, which would appear to be authoritative and unbiased.

    It is creditable that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bashir Wali, rose above considerations of political loyalty and non-professional sentiments during the inter-ministerial meeting in Abuja to adopt the country’s working documents ahead of this year’s 69th UNGA Sessionin New York. His candour while addressing heads of government ministries, departments and agencies reflected his understandable discomfiture, which was underlined by his declaration that he was seeking the approval of President Goodluck Jonathan to limit the number of delegates this year.

    Wali said: “The size of Nigeria’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly last year was 567; that is something that is certainly unacceptable. On that basis I asked that they send me the list of three countries, Germany, South Africa and Egypt to compare with what we in Nigeria have. None of them is up to one third of our delegation.”   He reasoned: “So, you can see that there is certainly need to really take a second look and see that those of our delegates that go to the UN General Assembly do have value. It is not a question of having a jamboree; but indeed, it is more like a jamboree.”

    Significantly, the minister pointed out that his argument was informed by facts derived from experience. He said: “I happen to have observed for four years as Nigeria’s ambassador to the UN, the delegation of Nigeria to the UN General Assembly. So, I know and if we are going to be honest to ourselves, I know 80 percent of the delegates that go from Nigeria do not add value to our team to the UN.” In other words, apart from what amounts to a trivialisation of forum and function, it is like being big for nothing.

    Against this background, it is worth considering how such an unjustifiably high number of officials get on the train, which is to say that the business of representing the country at the UNGA may have become equivalent to riding on a gravy train with the implication that the delegates enjoy rich monetary advantages unmatched by the value they bring to their work.

    Sadly,  it is no secret that the country’s shambolic public administration system has over the years encouraged government workers to scramble for foreign official assignments in order to collect substantial travel allowances known as “estacode”. A logical but ultimately senseless consequence of such state of affairs is that many of the beneficiaries reportedly indulge in shopping trips, visit relations and attend to other personal matters while neglecting the official business that took them abroad.

    Wali’s observation, which goes to show the extent of the rot, should prompt a critical examination of this freeloading culture and a proper intervention to bring it to an end. It is instructive that he said at the meeting: “Certainly, something has to be done to put a stop to this embarrassment.” Indeed, the absurdity exposes the country to avoidable international ridicule, especially because   the sheer numerical strength of such delegations has little to do with qualitative impact.

    It is indefensible that in this framework, accountability and responsibility are relegated to insignificance, and the powers that be seem unbothered by the squandering of public funds as well as the unproductiveness of human resources. This is no way to make progress and earn international respect.

  • Will conference end in jamboree?

    Will conference end in jamboree?

    Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU highlights public expectations about the National Conference as delegates resume today from their one week break.

    For the next three months, eyes will be on the National Conference holding in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As delegates resume today from their one week break, stormy sessions are expected. Pro-Sovereign National Conference delegates are warming up for discussions on the fundamental issues that necessitated the convocation of the conference by President Goodluck Jonathan. Those bent on sustaining the status quo will also not relent . The All Progressives Congress (APC), the only political party that has distanced itself from the exercise by refusing to send delegates, will not sit on the sideline. Its officials will be firing salvos at the conference.

    The National Judicial Institute (NJI) Hall, Abuja, was filled to the brim during the inauguration. A mini-carnival unfolded as many delegates alighted from their luxury cars, exchanging banters. The assembly was a blend of septuagenarians, octogenarians and men and women in their late 50s and 60s. Except the couple, Mr. Yinka Odumakin and Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, and the rights activist, Wale Okunniyi, who are under 50, other delegates are old men. Majority of them are powerful and influential Nigerians, having been part of the previous administrations. For the retired Generals, former governors, ministers and legislators, who are also delegates, it was a reunion of sorts.

    Seven categories of delegates attended the opening session, which was opened by President Jonathan last week. The first set comprised few patriots, who were in sober reflection. They had embraced the conference as a call to duty to salvage Nigeria. These eminent Nigerians did not supply their account numbers on the accreditation sheet. Leading the pack is the activist cleric, Pastor Tunde Bakare, a delegate from Ogun State. The founder of the Latter Rain Assembly and APC chieftain also suggested that delegates who were accompanied by aides should not expect any extra-allowance for their upkeep. A National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) chieftain, who refused to fill the space for account number, said that he came to render a selfless service. “I am skipping that. I am not here for a jamboree. I am not interested,” added the retired university don and pro-democracy activist.

    The former governors, ministers, and legislators were in a class of their own. They are likely to form a powerful bloc and lobby group at the conference. This group is led by the veteran journalist, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former governor of Ogun State. During the discussion on sitting arrangement, a delegate had suggested that participants should sit according to states of origin. But, Osoba held a contrary opinion. He suggested that, since the conference is expected to acquire a national outlook, delegates should sit as they arrive the venue. His advice was received with acclamation and adopted by the chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi (rtd).

    The retired Generals are also a factor. This class has been blamed for the political and economic adversity of the country. These men of affluence do not represent the diverse tribes, but the Armed Forces on which back they rose to limelight. As soldiers, who displaced legitimate authorities and foisted the unitary system on the beleaguered country, they may not have the solution to the mess they created when they were in power. In their blissful retirement, they have aligned with a political party and joined forces in heating up the polity. Critics have pointed out that it is debatable that they are now eager to correct their past mistakes, which continue to take their tolls on the component units.

    There were also the ‘President’s men’, who, it is believed, are in the confab to protect his interests. Among them are the eminent Ijaw leader, Senator Edwin Clark, and former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamisyeseigha. A source said that the proposal for a single term of five or six years for the President, the Vice President, governors and their deputies may emanate from this category. But, another delegate from Bayelsa State said that it is not true, saying that the President has no agenda.

    At the accreditation centre, a drama unfolded. When a delegate sighted his old friend, he exclaimed: “You made it too”. They hugged and started a long discussion. It was evident that, for many delegates, the conference is an extension of political empowerment and another avenue for sharing the national cake. N7 billion has been voted for the exercise, and if it does not wind up in three months, the conference budget may be adjusted. A delegate to the 2005 Abuja Conference, Mr. Olorunfunmi Basorun, was irked by the presence of some people at the conference. He said: “There are many people there who should not be there”. The former Secretary to Lagos State Government pointed out that many delegates lack the understanding of the issues on the front burner.

    Many Northern delegates are tribal irredentists like many of their Southern counterparts. Since oil is domiciled in the South, the prime motive of the North is to retain political control for the purpose of allocating its proceeds. While delegates from the South were reiterating their call for fiscal federalism, many Northern delegates, who spoke with reporters, shsorthly before the in auguration, packaged a tactical response, avoiding a categorical statement. Yoruba and Igbo and Southsouth delegates, including Ayo Adebanjo, Olaniwun Ajayi, Chukwuemeka Ezeife and King Diette Spiff, said that true federalism is the answer to the defective system. But, Ambassador Yusuf Mamman, a representative of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at the conference was evasive. He said, diplomatically: “We will discuss the contentious issues”.

    There are also the political war horses. These old men supported themselves with walking sticks. They were assisted into the hall by aides. Some of them were around during the constitutional conferences preceding independence, either as delegates or lieutenants of the three pathfinders-the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the late Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe and the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. They had participated in all the political dispensations, served under discredited administrations and collaborated with the military to wreck havoc on the country.

    As these delegates resume from their one week break today, opinion is still divided on the desirability of the national dialogue. A lawyer, Tunde Kolawole, objected to its composition, saying that many delegates are unfit for any rescue mission. He said that Nigeria knows how to recycle delegates. “They are responsible for the problems and they are not likely to find solution to them”, he stressed. The lawyer also chided some of them for complaining about accommodation problem. He said it is curious that they are raising accommodation issue because many of them have big mansions in Abuja. Flaying them for expensive lifestyles, he said that they may like to live in five star hotels at the expense of the state. “Many see the conference as a meal ticket. They only deserve sitting allowance. Those who have said they will not collect can collect and give to charity,” he added.

    However, Basorun’s view differed slightly from Kolawole’s. He said there are good people at the conference. He also said the work of the conference has been made easy by the previous Abuja conference. The elder statesman said that what the Kutigi-led conference should do is to retrieve the dumped report and adopt its relevant recommendations. “They should go back to the archive and check the recommendations of previous confabs. For instance, I was at the 2005 conference and we decided that local governments should be ceded to the states. That is not new. They should look at our reasons for the decision that power should be devolved to the states. Everything is stated there. We recommended that there should be state police to implement federal laws. They are not new”, he added.

    Basorun said the main task before the conference is the decentralisation of power. If this is done, he said there will be the revival of federalism in Nigeria. “It is only those who want this country dissolved that will be playing with these recommendations. I am opposed to power being concentrated at the centre”, he emphasised.

    For the Methodist Church prelate, Dr. Chukwuemeka Uche, the delegates can only succeed in the arduous task, if they shun personal interest and focus attention on the suffering of the masses. The priest said that the process is important. But, he also emphasised that the end is more important. Thus, he enjoined the President to implement the report of the conference faithfully. In a statement by his media aide, Rev. Oladapo daramola, the Prelate said that the debate is timely. “The deliberation can only be successful and fruitful, if it guarantees and secures a meaningful life for the ordinary Nigerian. I am happy about the quality of persons appointed for the Conference and I have faith in the quality of deliberations that will be witnessed. I also trust that President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly, working hand-in-hand with all relevant agencies and institutions, will see that the reports that will emanate from the conference will be fully implemented because the future of the country is dependent on it,” Uche added.

    Rev. Uche lamented that the country is suffering, despite its huge resources and opportunities. The prelate said the recent tragedy, whereby job seekers lost their lives, should guide the thoughts of the delegates. Uche urged them to proffer solutions to state fragility to prevent state failure. “The conference must bring lasting solution to the home grown terrorism, religious intolerance, endemic corruption, failed schools, failed hospitals, failed roads, failed security, failed power supply, Niger Delta militancy, oil bunkering, kidnapping, the vanishing opportunities for our youths, the widening gulf between the rich and the poor, the receding faith in Nigeria by Nigerians”, he said.

  • National Conference as jamboree

    SIR: The proposed National Conference will not succeed beyond Aso Rock and other selected venues where it will take place. For the avoidance of doubt, the proposed exercise shares striking similarities with the previous charades by the leadership of this country as part of their usual grandstanding and thoughtless bids towards addressing the myriad problems dogging Nigeria since the 1914 Amagalmation.

    When in hisOctober 1, Independence nationwide broadcast, President Jonathan Goodluck announced the proposed National Conference, which according to him, is targeted at finding solutions to Nigeria’s many challenges, some of us were sceptical about the effectiveness of such exercise in the light of the barriers imposed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) on its outcomes. Accordingly, that cynicism has been justified by the President’s recent remarks on the proposed exercise, where he was reported to have said that the decisions of the conference would be sent to the National Assembly for ratification and possible incorporation into the on-going Constitution Amendment exercise.

    It is important we do not lose sight of the position of our extant laws on the proposed exercise, however attractive this option (National Conference) might appear. We need to draw our attention to the provisions of Section 4 (2) and Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). To be sure, the said provisions empower the National Assembly and their counterparts at the 36 state Houses of Assembly to make laws as well as alter any part of the Constitution in manners clearly stated therein. It is my firm submission, with regards to the foregoing provisions, that any outcome reached at the proposed conference MUST receive the endorsement of the lawmakers before it can become implementable.

    Meanwhile, it is germane to note that the proposed conference is no different from the previous ones. The Ibadan 1950, Lagos 1952, London 1957 and 1989 conferences yielded no consequences in finding solutions to the problems and challenges confronting the country. Similarly, the 2005 National Dialogue convened by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo is worthy of mention here. The outcomes of that exercise suffered fatal rejection from the National Assembly, which relied heavily on the aforementioned sections in refusing to deliberate on the proposals. There is no guarantee that the proposed conference would not suffer similar fate like the previous exercises, as much as the decisions reached at the conference would have to pass through the lawmakers for implementation.

    Much as one is not averse to Nigerians coming together to brainstorm on the way forward for the country, it needs be expressly stated that such discourse must be conducted within an appropriate platform and with the highest degree of sincerity from the conveners. If the Presidency is serious and strongly desirous to finding a lasting solutions to the country’s challenges, then it must convene a Sovereign National Conference. He can invoke Section 14 (2) (a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which confers sovereignty on the Nigeria people, to do this. The country can also learn from the experiences of Benin Republic (1989) and Congo Brazzville (1991) respectively, that successfully convoked sovereign national conferences to address problems and difficulties confronting their countries at those periods.

    Rather than embark on this wild goose chase and further deplete the nation’s already leaned national purse, the outcomes reached at the previous (as suggested by the APC National leader, Senator Bola Tinubu) conferences should be dusted and forwarded to the appropriate authorities for possible implementation until such a time when we are prepared for the people genuine discourse-the Sovereign National Conference.

     

    • Barrister Okoro Gabriel,

    Lagos

     

  • A borrowing country

    A borrowing country

    •Minister Ngama’s advocacy for more loans calls for a jamboree we cannot afford

    Despite the avalanche of reproof against the country’s mounting debt profile, the Federal Government still believes that taking more loans is in the nation’s interest. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its recent meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan declared that the nation is under-borrowed: and that the decision to go for more loans is irrevocable.

    Dr. Yerima Ngama, Minister of State for Finance and FEC spokesman, after the meeting reportedly declared: “We should borrow more, considering our economic activities. There is no problem with the level of our debt. The problem is the domestic debt. Interest rates are too high. Yes, we must continue to borrow. It is only poor people that do not borrow….you can borrow once you are credit worthy. America is the most indebted country in the world. Borrowing is good. The more money you have, the more money you need. There is nothing like satisfaction. If we are not oil rich, nobody will lend to us. We are borrowing because we have many projects.”

    We are astonished that such a high government official could publicly describe the collective decision of this administration’s highest policy formulating body on the salient debt question in such theatrical manner. It is outrageous to know that this administration thinks that the country’s domestic debt, reportedly put at N6 trillion, is not considered high despite the escalating cost of servicing it. We see nothing wrong in borrowing but we doubt if the country has the discipline and focus necessary for the deployment of borrowed money for purposes that would serve the interest of the people.

    Already, the government is making alibi to cover up its ineptitude in this regard. The FEC played the neo-colonial game when it listed as a major factor leading to increased domestic debt the 2010 wage increase to civil servants. The FEC also revealed that domestic borrowing, in order to meet government salary obligation to workers has increased to N 3.6 trillion. More appalling is the servicing of such debts with N699 billion in 2012 alone. Unfortunately, much of these debts in reality were used to service the comfort and greed of appointed and elected public officials through dubious allowances and other unwarranted payments.

    Nigeria’s reserve of above $53 billion comprises a foreign reserve of $45 billion; excess crude of $7 billion and Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) of $1 billion. With this huge foreign reserve, it is quite clear that the country does not need any domestic or foreign loan. A situation where the nation saves money in banks abroad at two per cent interest and borrows locally at 15 percent interest is bereft of any economic sense. Whose interests are the decision makers protecting – their parochial pursuits or that of the nation?

    In 2006, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, then finance minister erroneously goaded the country into paying $12.4 billion, being questionable debts owed the Paris and London Clubs by past administrations. The motive was to get the country out of her then debt trap. Surprisingly, in 2013, under a different administration, Okonjo-Iweala, current finance minister and coordinator of the economy, in a manner that contradicted her earlier position, is at the forefront of moves to obtain more loans for the country. Unfortunately, over 80 percent of projects upon which the repaid loans were expended failed.

    Another jamboree under the guise of borrowing is going on at a time when the nation’s current foreign debt profile stands at a high $5billion dollars. There is no need to further plunge the country into endemic debt trap when already collected loans have not served the essence of generating income and employment because the economy is shrinking rapidly.

    We deprecate the insatiable official urge to obtain new loans that will overburden future generations. The situation becomes detestable considering the fact that previous loans were not committed to any meaningful infrastructural development in the country.

     

  • MDAs’ jamboree

    MDAs’ jamboree

    • It is bad that they failed to remit N4trn revenues in three years!

    ACCOUNTABILITY and transparency are the soul of modern governance. Without the twain, governance would be in A shambles and its activities would be a free for all bazaar that has no bearing on results or the country’s progress. This seems to be the case with the Federal Government even though the state governments’ examples have not been any stellar either.

    This question of accountability in government was raised recently by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts which is reviewing the Report of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAGF). The report for the years 2006 – 2009, had revealed that the Federal Government’s MDAs had reneged on remitting to the Federation Account, the sum of N4 trillion over this period.

    The House committee, briefing journalists, noted that it was investigating the activities of a sample of 60 out of the 601 MDAs. Citing some examples, the committee stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) alone had $7 billion recorded against it as unremitted revenue within this period. Another example is the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) where it was discovered that not a dime had been remitted to the Federation Account for over seven years. Solomon Adeola, the committee’s chairman puts it this way: “There is nowhere in the budget where it is stated that this is revenue from gas. NLNG has been on for over six to seven years and it is not privatised, but we have not even heard from it. And that is why this committee has invited the company to give us its revenue profile.” The committee also invited the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and the heads of the agencies under her supervision, including the NNPC, NLNG, the Department of Petroleum Resources, (DPR); the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, (PPPRA) and the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, (PPMC).

    It is grave indeed that agencies which are supposed to be the nation’s cash cows would operate for years without giving account or making remittances to the common till. It must be one of the surest signs of a government that is remiss in its duties and indeed, one that has forgotten the reason for its existence. It is something akin to a failed state where key agencies of government would operate for years without turning in any results or reports for that matter.

    For a government that mandates private concerns to render annual accounts, it is shocking that the activities of its agencies are often shrouded in secrecy. This unwholesome situation is particularly worrisome in the cases of highly commercial agencies, especially in oil and gas, telecommunications and maritime sectors, to name a few. But even at that, it ought to be standard practice that all MDAs should properly and publicly render financial accounts of their activities annually.

    While we commend the House Committee on Public Accounts for what could be described as a rescue operation, we also suggest that this being a fundamental issue, it should not be left at the whims of the agencies involved to act right. We suggest that requisite laws be enacted to make it mandatory for MDAs to render annual accounts and it must be made publicly just like companies quoted on the Stock Exchange. We also suggest that for full effect, it may not be out of place for a body to be set up to receive and review these accounts promptly and issue queries as appropriate. This is without prejudice to the OAGF.

    The issues at hand here are serious matters of state. Again, they border on accountability, transparency, diligent harnessing of state resources and institution building. This is an opportunity to properly situate these matters. Let’s not miss it. We must stop this jamboree.