The governors of thirty six states have accused the Federal Government of abandoning its duty to address security challenges in the country.
According to information gathered from the Punch news page, the governors said the rising level of poverty among Nigerian was a result of the effect of insecurity on commercial and agricultural activities.
They said that the Federal Government had allowed the country to become a killing field.
While reacting to the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, that the thirty six governors were responsible for the rising poverty index in the country, the forum argued that the governors had made tremendous progress in their respective states through relevant projects.
The NGF, in a statement by its Director of Media and Public Affairs, said, “It is important to put on record the progress made by state governors in the administration of their states, which have witnessed tremendous progress in recent times.”
The main reason why people can’t engage in regular commerce is because of the center’s neglect.
A survey of fifty six thousand households in a country of two hundred million people can never diminish the good work that thirty six pro-poor-minded governors are doing for this country.
The minister was accused of trying to downplay the notion that rising levels of hunger and lack were peculiar to Nigeria, instead of answering a question about what he and his colleague were doing to alleviate the hardship in the country.
The government, through many of its social security programs, has been dedicating resources to alleviating hardship, and then goes further to accuse state governors of misdirecting resources to projects that have no impact on the people.
The minister pointed out that seventy two percent of the poverty in Nigeria is found in the rural areas.
The forum described the Federal Government’s claim as “Mr Agba’s veiled and deliberate effort, as a minister, to protect his paymasters and politicise very critical issues of national importance”.
The primary duty of any government is to ensure the security of lives and property, without which no sensible human activity takes place.
The Federal Government, which is responsible for the security of lives and property, has been unable to fulfill this covenant with the people, thus allowing bandits, insurgency, and kidnappers to turn the country into a killing field.
How can a defenceless rural population maintain a sustainable lifestyle of peace and harmony when their lives are cut short?
How does a minister who is unable to ensure security, law, and order blame governors?
The national cash cow, the NNPC, has failed to remit statutory allocations to states in several months under the current administration.
The situation had compelled governors to rely on other sources of revenue like the SFTAS program and other interventions anchored by the NGF, to fund state activities while monies budgeted for such federal ministries like agriculture, rural development, and humanitarian affairs are not being deployed in the direction of the people.
Akeredolu replies Federal Government
The Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, denied that funds belonging to the local government areas in the state had been tampered with.
The President accused governors of stealing local government funds.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, on Saturday, the governor said his administration had not touched funds meant for local governments.
In the last two years, his administration received thirteen percent oil derivation, subsidy, and SURE-P refunds from the federation account, as well as some key capital projects across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The local government chairmen can attest to the fact that they have total freedom in the management of their funds.
The monthly FAAC receipts are devoted to the payment of salaries and pensions as agreed by labour leaders at the monthly meetings presided over by the Head of Service and Chairman of Joint Negotiating Council.
Despite Governor Akeredolu’s vow to always pay salaries and pensions as and when due, the financial crisis across the country occasioned by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in non-payment of salaries in full for some months.
On three occasions this year, the government has paid double salaries in a month, thereby reducing the arrears.
If the amount spent on these infrastructural projects and payment of salary arrears is compared with the refunds, it is clear that the money was not mismanaged in Ondo State.
The administration of Governor Akeredolu is committed to transparency, accountability, and integrity.
