Transition has remained turbulent in more than 10 states since the May 29 handover in Nigeria as some new governors are currently engaged in serious battle with their predecessors over alleged frauds, indecent debts, and sundry political differences. In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, Yusufu Aminu Idegu in Benue and Austine Tsenzughul in Bauchi, present the intrigues in Benue, Plateau, Ebonyi and Bauchi states. This is the first installment of the intriguing face-off
Since the May 29, 2015 handover of power in Nigeria, many of the states have experienced turbulent transitions as the new governors battle their predecessors. From Rivers State in the South-South geo-political zone, where the Nyesom Wike-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government took over from the Rotimi Amaechi-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government, to Bauchi State in the North-West zone, where the Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar-led APC government took over from the Isa Yuguda-led PDP government, the transition has been turbulent.
The situation is the same in a state like Ebonyi in the South-East zone, where Dave Umahi-led new PDP government took over from another PDP government led by Chief Martin Elechi. In all of these cases, the new governors have raised alarm that the former administrations squandered common patrimony. While they swear to retrieve all stolen wealth, their predecessors allege attempts to tarnish their images and diminish their political stature. The verbal exchange is hot. Beyond words, some of the new governors are already on the streets and the homes of former officials to retrieve multi- million Naira properties. From the camp of the affected officials, it is all about political vendetta.
Bauchi
As soon as former Governor Isa Yuguda, who governed Bauchi State between May 29, 2007 and May 29,2015, bowed out last month, associates of his successor alleged that his government not only left sour and bitter taste in the mouth of the people, but a diarrhea that Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar has come to clean and cure.
In his first state-wide broadcast, Abubakar said his government is a product of the peoples’ resilience and commitment to uphold their yearnings for improved living standards. He vowed to strengthen weak institutions and revive essential facilities including public service capabilities.
He also alleged that “the previous government literally lived at the expense of Bauchi State’s populace for the last eight years.
The shocker, he said, was that “we have taken over a government owing a cumulative external and domestic debts to the tune of N125 billion, made up of N48, 743, 196, 021.79 domestic loans.”
“Foreign loans $87 million (N18, 915, 644, 597. 04), Contractual liabilities of N42, 556,123, 229.05. State Workers’ Gratuity arrears of N7, 741, 016, 737. 19, and a local government workers’ gratuity arrears of N1, 670, 407,774.00.”
Additionally, the new governor inherited three months unpaid civil servants’ monthly salary arrears that add up to N5.2 billion.
The new governor lamented, “I met an absolutely empty treasury”, adding, “Bauchi State treasury had next to nothing of accessing funds.” He also informed that for 8 years, the Yuguda government got N864 billion, besides ecological funds.
Given this reality, the current All Progressives Congress (APC) government, which came into office at the eve of farming season, is, according to Abubakar’s associates, in a dilemma on how to source some essential farm in-puts, such as fertilizer and others for farmers in the state since the immediate past administration did not leave any stock of the commodity.
The new government also needs N572 million as subsidy for the state’s intending Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia later in the year. The empty treasury is crippling the feeding of students in boarding schools across the state.
However, faced with this Herculean task, the governor, by way of immediate action, has mapped out strategies for areas of dire concern in his “quick-win programmes” among which include the reduction of his and the Deputy-Governor’s salary by 50 percent monthly.
Based on interim findings and recommendations by the 41 member Transition Committee he set up in April 2015, Abubakar has set up a no-nonsense Recovery Committee, headed by a retired Air Commodore Ahmed Tijani Gamawa.
The committee has, among other duties, to recover all government properties illegally carted away by operatives of the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regime headed by Mallam Isa Yuguda.
As at Thursday evening last week, the committee recovered 59 assorted vehicles, including Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).”Of this number, 25 vehicles were recovered from former Gov. Isa Yuguda’s four wives”, committee chairman Tijani-Gamawa informed The Nation, in Bauchi.
The committee has asked a printer and business tycoon in the state, Alhaji Garba Noma, “to stop forthwith further development” on a large parcel of land belonging to former BACAS, now Specialist Hospital in the state capital.
It also directed those who bought 85 plots of land belonging to Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme in the state capital to keep off as they are institutional parcels of land.
The Nation can authoritatively reveal that most of the vehicles, parcels of land and other state government’s movable property, including houses, were approved on May 28, 2015 by then Gov. Isa Yuguda.
In a brief chat with our correspondent, Tijani-Gamawa said “we have been given a state assignment to recover these government properties and we owe Bauchi people and God a duty to put in our best”.
“We have recovered 57 assorted vehicles, 2 from a local government area chieftain. Other people have been calling and bringing in their cars. But others we do go to their places to recover the cars”.
“We do not have a limit of cars to recover but we are targeting about 150 or more. For now, we are on vehicles, land, we are yet to go for the money and other things taken by individuals and or in the name of organizations, “the committe boss revealed.
Shading more light on why the properties were being recovered, the Recovery Committee chairman explained “there is a laid down procedure which was completely thrown away. Those who were using these vehicles were supposed to return them to the pool for a certain committee or surveyors to assess their value in Naira before those interested could apply and perhaps buy.
“But this process was not followed. Some of those that went away with their cars applied to the governor on May 27, 2015 and the governor approved same day. Their applications did not pass through any person or process; this is illegal and we say no to that”.
“It is Bauchi people’s properties and should be returned to them. Things must be properly done”, he stressed.
Gov. Abubakar in his maiden address to the people had vowed that “our government shall recover such illegally acquired funds and properties and use the same in developing our dear Bauchi State.”
Already, Mallam Isa Yuguda had responded to Gov. Abubakar, saying, “The governor has no right to reverse what I did in my capacity as an Executive Governor of Bauchi State”.
With this stand and if the unconfirmed stories making the rounds are anything to go by, it seems clear that the coast is already clear for former Bauchi State governor Isa Yuguda with his over 4000 political aides and the sitting governor, Mohammed Abubakar’s regime to sustain the already unfolding head-on collision.
Benue
Ortom battles Suswam
Regardless of all efforts made by immediate past governor, Gabriel Suswam, to wheedle his way into the heart of his successor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, the new Benue State helmsman is insisting on probing the former administration which he claims left the state on the tenterhooks with nothing to show for Suswam’s eight years at the saddle.
Suswam, whose party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lost the April governorship election to Ortom’s All Progressives Congress (APC), extended several olive branches to his erstwhile political arc enemy before and after his May 29 exit from the Government House. In his own words, “these hands of fellowship are meant to ensure a smooth transition from one administration to the other.”
On one occasion, Suswam openly pleaded with Ortom to look after him after his exit from office in May. Suswam made the plea at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Makurdi, when he played host to the then governor-elect. He said, “When I leave (office), I will be a burden on you and you must take care of me.”
On another occasion, Suswam assured the people that his party, the PDP, will not challenge Ortom’s mandate in court, stressing that litigation was an unnecessary distraction. The former governor also bought some SUVs and gave them to Ortom before the later was sworn-in as governor on May 29.
But it appears Suswam’s effort yielded no fruit as Governor Ortom, on taking office, while lamenting that he met an empty treasury, told the people of the state he planned to look thoroughly into the books of the past administration of his predecessor with a view to unearthing what led to the precarious state he met the affair of the state.
According to Ortom, the internally generated revenue of the state is completely zero. And the financial affairs of the state have been badly handled. He argues that unless a thorough inquisition is carried out to establish what happened in the past, it may be difficult to correct the anomalies.
“I met an empty treasury which if it is qualified, it can be put at 10 times-minus zero. When the allocation in the month of May came, there was an overdraft of about N1.9b and because of transition; the banks have held the facility. When we came in, the state needed over 350m to offset the April salary.
The internally generated revenue is zero. This is because of backlog of debts, bond, salary, pension and gratuity arrears, as well as obligation to contractors,” Ortom stated.
Of course, Suswam’s camp reacted to the allegations and the result is the current turbulent transition from his administration to the Ortom’s new one. According to an aide of the former Governor, there is an orchestrated attempt to paint the past administration in very bad light before the people.
“The effort to vilify Suswam’s administration will do nobody any good. The new government should bury all hatchets and concentrate on governance. To tell Benue people the former Governor did nothing in eight years is to say there is no single drop of water in the sea. People know the truth and the records are there for all to see,” he said.
Reacting, Ortom insisted probing Suswam is one of the urgent desires of the people of the state and he wishes to please those who voted for him. “Whatever we do will certainly be in tandem with the wishes and aspirations of the people of Benue State who massively voted for change in our state and not the contrary. Our state has been literally grounded and the most important objective at the moment should be how to offset salaries and allowances owed workers and stabilise for a smooth take off,” he explained. The governor equally frowned at the last minute massive recruitment into government ministries, parastatals and agencies as well as indiscriminate promotion allegedly done in the twilight of the last administration, maintaining that while some of the recruitments were fresh, others were being backdated or documented as replacements.
Regarding this, he said, “We want to warn that these recruitments, however documented in addition to the promotions, are in bad faith and cannot stand. Beneficiaries must be aware and civil servants used to perpetrate this illegality must face dire consequences.”
Ortom, who described what happened to the state as an evil spell, said he is working hard to lift the spell allegedly cast on the state. While inspecting moribund companies in some parts of the state, he noted that the collapse of all industries in the state indicated that it was under an evil spell to have allowed the high level of economic decay and rot of all her industries.
He said “This is my first time of coming into the state-owned oil mill and from what we have seen, Benue is under a spell. There is no reason for this factory to be lying fallow; this factory is a gold mine, greater than Benue Cement. The raw materials are here and when the factory starts working, farmers, our mothers, and the youths will smile.”
And just as it was being hoped that the face-off between Suwam and his successor will abate, the transition committee set up by the governor to scrutinise the handover notes of his predecessor, Gabriel Suswam, uncovered alleged massive fraud at the State Examination Board.
The committee, headed by former Head of Service (HOS), Mike Iordye, claimed that the management of Benue State Examination singlehandedly coughed out N15 million from the accounts without approval. The said cash was said to have been donated to the PDP during the last general elections.
It was also gathered the board also bought a Toyota Hilux vehicle at N10 million, which was also donated to the PDP. It was also gathered that apart from the examination board, the transition committee also uncovered alleged fraud in Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), Benue Links Transport Company and Ministry of Finance.
With all these alleged scams already uncovered, and Ortom’s vow to check all the books of his predecessor, it appears there is no end in sight yet to the turbulence in the transition in Benue State.
Plateau
I won’t forgive last minutes looting- Lalong
The suspicion that the last administration was involved in last minute looting of the state was raised by the All Progressive Congress (APC) shortly after the party won the governorship election in the state in April 2015. State Chairman of the party, Mr. Latep Dabang, who disclosed his discovery in a press conference said, “It has come to our notice that the outgoing government has engaged in last minute looting of the state resources. As at the time the outgoing government was expected to be compiling its handover note, they are making efforts to compile more debt for the incoming administration by applying for all forms of loan from banks and carting away government properties from the Government House and agencies.
That allegation by the leadership of the party actually set the tone for the probe of the PDP-led former administration. The state governor, Simon Lalong, had before his inauguration vowed to probe his predecessor as soon as he resumes office. He said, “Even if I overlook all that happened before my election, I will not forgive the outgoing administration for the last minutes looting of state resources; when I come, I will make sure I recover them. And I want to also sound a note of warning to all banks in the country, any of the banks who grant credit facilities to the outgoing government after my election is doing that at his own risk because I will not recognize such loan when I take over; it is fraudulent and unnecessary for an outgoing government to take any credit facilities, I will not accept that,” he said.
As soon as the new APC government was inaugurated on May 29, the governor mandated the transition committee that oversees the transition to further investigate the contents of the handing over note received from the last administration. The transition committee, which is headed by the state deputy governor, Sunny Tyoden, has since been expanded and broke into various sub-committees to be able to handle specific sector of the state.
The investigation of the last administration of Jonah Jang was also necessitated by the claim by the last government that it left a debt burden of N104 billion which the new government doubted. Governor Lalong believed that with thorough investigation, the debt profile of the state could be more. The governor said, “The state’s debt profile as contained in the handing over note I received from the immediate past administration headed by Jonah Jang stand at the N104 billion. This figure excludes seven month’s salary arrears owed workers as well as unpaid pension arrears. So, I m not sure the debt profile was well captured by the last administration; there is the need for a careful verification so as to know the true situation of the state.”
The ongoing probe by the transition committee is said to be a preliminary stage for a full investigation of the last administration in the state. A member of the transition committee who would not want his name in print said, “This preliminary probe is for government to have facts to table before the judicial panel of inquiry to be set up later for the full probe; government will not just set up panel of inquiry without giving the panel working documents, this is what we are doing now.”
The source said “even at this preliminary level, we have discovered so many shoddy deals which will shock people of the state when we release the report. We have seen cogent reasons why the last administration has to be probe.”
The APC administration has reasons to suspect that the last government defrauded the state. In 2013, the Plateau State House of Assembly received a petition of mismanagement of funds against the government of Jonah Jang, but the House failed to investigate the petition as a member of Jang’s family, Yakubu Jang, dragged the House of Assembly to court for making attempt to investigate his father.
The same petition filled by a group known as Plateau Patriots is now being considered by the transition committee in the ongoing probe.
Governor Lalong had refused to occupy the new Government House constructed by his predecessor on the allegation that the project was used to defraud the state. Lalong said, “I am not going to use the new Government House because that project was a misplaced priority, that project has gulped up to N15 billion and still remains uncompleted, I don’t need such elaborate office to work for the people of Plateau State.”
The new Government House project is also being looked into in the ongoing probe considering the fact that the construction of the project was reviewed upward severally from its original cost of N4 billion up to N15 billion and yet remained uncompleted.
To ensure a hitch-free investigation of the handing over note, Lalong has appealed to stakeholders in the state to join hands with the transition committee to be able to do a thorough job. The appeal was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Samuel Nanle. The statement said, “The Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon. Simon has directed that all Heads of Boards and Parastatals who are yet to forward to the Debt Management Office and the Transition Committee their current Statement of Financial Indebtedness and Affairs respectively, to do so not later than Monday, 8th of June, 2015.
“The debt stock of the Jang Administration covers contractors’ arrears, commercial bank loans, pension and gratuity arrears, severance gratuities, internal loans, judgment debts and other sundry indebtedness which are liabilities on the administration of Governor Lalong.
“Need we mention that the lack of prioritization of government expenditure on none essentials have no doubt allowed essentials to remain as debts which the Jang administration has transferred; and for which the Lalong administration in her commitment to the social wellbeing of the citizenry will have to address.
“It is necessary to state that the APC Government of Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong is starting on a difficult footing with the insolvent position of government finances as inherited; the near absence of operation vehicles, office consumables and the disturbing state of indebtedness which will make it a near impossibility for any take-off financial life line from the banks that the state is indebted to. To therefore call the issue of the over N104 billion indebtedness ‘trivialities’ is to say the least laughable.
Governor Lalong has repeatedly stated in his campaign and inauguration speech that he is not interested in witch hunting anybody; this however does not preclude the right of Plateau State people to hold accountable anyone who has plundered the common wealth of the state.
“The days of groping in the dark are over and as the facts agree with the truth on the statement of Affairs of the State as inherited from former Governor Jang when the transition report is received for which it will be incumbent on government to make known to the good people of Plateau,” said Lalong
Lalong has declared that the APC-led administration is on rescue mission in the state considering the sorry financial status of the state.
He stated this in Government House Jos, while swearing in the Secretary to the State Government, Hon Rufus Bature, Chief of Staff Government House, Hon. John Dafan.
“Let me sustain my appeal to the good people of Plateau State to leave behind all that took place in the past and rally round this government as a new vista of opportunity is opened for us. Indeed we are in an era of collective participation that is expected to engender the holistic development of our state,” said Lalong.
As it is, citizens of Plateau State are waiting eagerly to see the end of the ongoing probe; most of them believed strongly that the Agricultural Services and Training Center (ASTC) established by the last administration in conjunction with and Isreali investors was only a conduit pipe used for money laundering by the last administration. Weather the allegation is true or not, the ongoing probe will unveil the true position of the project and others.
However, the attempt to probe the last administration is not without a challenge from the immediate past administration. Senator Jang, who headed the last administration for eight years, has alleged that the attempt to raise allegation of fraud against him was an attempt to witch-hunt him and tarnish his image.
In a press statement released by Jang’s media aide, Garuba Clinton, the former governor said, “The attention of the immediate past Governor of Plateau State and Senator Jonah David Jang has been drawn to a story making the rounds to the effect that he left the state with a debt profile of N104bn.
He said, “While it is true that in the handover notes given to the new administration the debt profile is as made available to newsmen, it must be pointed out that the Jang administration did not borrow N104bn as is being insinuated in some quarters.
“The immediate past government only borrowed an external debt of about N18bn with evidence of several developmental projects to show for it. The balance of the said N104bn spreads across contractual agreements for ongoing projects and those approved but not yet mobilised, outstanding of 6 months salaries of civil servants.
“Dr. Jonah David Jang is committed to the development of Plateau State beyond individualism and party affiliations and has therefore committed to work with the Lalong administration in the task of moving Plateau further, to take its place of pride in the comity of states in Nigeria. It is his desire that the current administration does well for the people of Plateau State and is pledging his support to the government in order for it to surpass the modest achievements of the last administration in the state.
“It is in realisation of this that we advise Your Excellency to focus less on trivialities and focus more on improving on our modest achievements while correcting our perceived mistakes because at the end of your administration, Plateau people will not judge you on the number of accusations and counter accusations but on the extent to which you have met their yearnings and aspirations through the number of developmental projects that directly affect their lives.”
Umahi, Elechi’s cat and mouse game in Ebonyi
Although the new governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Dave Umahi, says he has no intention of probing his predecessor, former Governor Martins Elechi, while always in the same breadth vowing to recover all mismanaged funds in the state, observers of the politics of the state say the former Deputy Governor may be doing everything possible underneath to make his former boss account for alleged mismanaged fund under his watch.
It was during his maiden worship at the Government House Chapel, few days after he was sworn in, that Umahi first made his now popular vow to spare Elechi, who he deputized before emerging governor, of any embarrassment and victimization after office.
He said: “although I will have zero-tolerance on corruption, I will not probe Chief Martin Elechi’s administration.
“I was part of the administration but we must ensure that all mismanaged funds meant for the state are recovered.”
Assuring his former boss, who according to sources close to both politicians, made several effort to seek Umahi’s forgiveness before and after leaving office, of his intention not to bother him in any way, the governor reportedly said, “Chief Elechi as my mentor, showed me the way forward, gave me the freedom to exercise my rights and I bear no grudge against him.”
But today, it is unclear how the new governor intends to keep his vow of not probing his former boss because it appears he is more committed to the other half of the vow; “to ensure that all mismanaged funds meant for the state are recovered.”
Barely two days after his resumption in office as governor, Umahi raised alarm that he inherited empty treasury from the past administration of Chief Martin Elechi. Lamenting what he described as the worrisome financial state of Ebonyi, the governor re-iterated his earlier promise to recover stolen funds.
“While it is not the desire of the governor to embarrass anybody, let alone his former boss, it is in the interest of the state for him to go after stolen and mismanaged funds, especially now that the state is left with an empty treasury by the former administration.
“He needs money to run the government. Allocation is daily dwindling and the internally generated revenue is pitiable. Yet, some people are in possession of money belonging to the state. It is just normal that the new administration should seek to recover such fund and use it to better the lot of the hapless people of the state,” an aide of the governor said.
Continuing what some people have come to see as his clampdown on the Elechi administration, Umahi reversed the appointment of 16 Permanent Secretaries appointed by the immediate past administration a week to the end of his administration.
The governor gave the directive for the reservation of the appointment during a meeting with the leadership of the Organised Labour in the state; the NLC, TUC and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the Akanu Ibiam International Conference Centre, Abakaliki.
Umahi, who blamed his predecessor for the confusion created by his decision to sack the permanent secretaries, noted that there was no fund in the state as his administration inherited empty treasury from the past administration and that appointing new permanent secretaries means creating more problems as the state will be in difficulty paying workers’ salaries.
Umahi who, days later, terminated the contract of contractors lately awarded by the past administration for the evacuation of refuse dumps in the capital city, was to later direct the previous contractors engaged by the government to take over the job to ensure that the environment was properly cleaned up.
And while efforts were reportedly being made by some mutual associates of the duo to get the new governor to give his ex-boss some respite, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) came into the picture as it invited former Governor Elechi for interrogation.
The commission also invited the former governor’s son, Nnanna Elechi, for interrogation. Sources at the commission said they were questioned over some missing and misappropriated funds. Though he was released afterwards, the commission said it is still investigating the former governor. Wilson Uwujaren, the spokesman of EFCC, confirmed the information.
Explaining why it may be difficult for Umahi to look the other way and ignore the alleged financial atrocities of the past administration, Chief Onyekachi Okwor, a chieftain of the ruling PDP in the state, said the current state of things in Ebonyi beg for decisive action by the new administration.
“There is deep rottenness in Ebonyi today. The administration of Chief Martin Elechi destroyed the lives of Ebonyians. Under his watch, poverty was promoted and corruption asserted itself and reigned supreme while the entire state witnessed a retrogressive development as it was under the administration before him.
The repercussion was that our state wallowed in its growing problems over the years and it was left lagging behind other states that were hitherto either trailing the state from behind or at the same par with it economically or otherwise. This is our present condition.
If you consider this sad situation, you will understand why the governor cannot listen to those telling him to allow some people go away with funds meant to develop the state. He is not in any way victimizing anybody, rather, he is upholding the pledge he made to us when he was being sworn in,” Okwor said.
In spite of the things he had gone through barely a month after leaving office, Elechi says he is not worried about what people think about him now that he is out of office. According to him, his former deputy who is now the governor, is at liberty to probe him if he so wish.
“A traditional ruler once told me something. The man said that the only thing people have not accused him of is being pregnant because nobody will believe it since he is a man. But if it were possible for a man to be pregnant, they would accuse him of that. There is nothing I have not been accused of but what are the supporting facts? I have always emphasised that election results must be respected,’ he said.
Explaining what happened between him and the new governor before and during the last governorship election, Elechi said he disagreed with Umahi over the manner the latter emerged as the flag-bearer of their party.
“Nothing brings down a regime as fast as tampering with election results. I also emphasised that if truly we are in a democracy, everybody is free to make a choice. My deputy will confirm that I told him ‘initially I was supporting you but I have reasons to change my mind, however, the decision is that of the congress.’ I have remained consistent on this and I will not deviate from it.
Whoever emerges freely in the congress is my choice, whether it is my deputy or another candidate. What I was against was manipulation of the congress, whether by my deputy of any other person. I didn’t say that in secret, I said that in public and I continue to say it. That is still my position,” he explained.
On allegations that he worked against the smooth transition of power to his successor before the May 29 swearing-in date, the former governor said there is no truth in such assertions.
“If you say we are working to ensure there is no smooth transition, I don’t know what you mean. How can anybody do it? Can I stop the Chief Judge from swearing-in my deputy on the D-day? Will I stop people from going to the stadium? Will I refuse to hand over on that day? How do you justify the allegation? I find it embarrassing.
We are in a free country. If anybody thinks I have violated any laws, by all means, let him do what he thinks should be done. I am never afraid of my future because it is in the hands of God. I am not at all disturbed by whatever any future regime, whether federal, state or local government may think about me. That is immaterial,” he concluded.
With the duo playing hide and seek over their soured relationship while the situation gradually degenerates into open hostility, it is left to be seen how the political face-off between successor and predecessor will end.