By Ehichioya Steve Odion
In Nigeria, government at all levels operates with the budget presented to the people at every beginning of every financial year. Therefore, while implementing such budget there is always a need for openness, transparency and accountability to the people to whom the budget was presented.
But in this part of the world we display impunity where contracts are awarded arbitrarily without making it open, the amount each of those jobs will cost and the time frame for job execution kept away from the people. In the procurement laws that guide the award of contracts, the processes to be observed are clearly spelt out. But today what do will see. Firstly, because the right things are not done you begin to see jobs that are poorly done, and in many occasions those jobs will be completely abandoned.
Many people who are ignorance of the procedures for award of contract, especially members of the ruling party will begin to feel indifferent about the actions of the president or governor as the case may be. Phrases like "the president is working" become common refrains in public gatherings. Worst still, those who try to point the right way to the holders of executive powers are often regarded detractors who must not be taken seriously.
This is a total ignorance of the highest order. They don't know such attitude is an open cheque for those in government to siphoned the common resources meant for the development of the state or country. Yet they will continue to praise political actors even for actions not in public interest simply because it is their party member or relatives that's at the helm of affairs.
Meanwhile, during electioneering campaign, these politicians make all kinds of promises which they know would not be kept till their end of tenure. Just in 2023 general elections President Bola Tinubu during his campaign openly told Nigerians that in a shortest period of his administration if he doesn't make electricity stable in the country that the people should reject him in 2027 by voting him out completely. But today despite Nigerians reminding him about the promise he made and why he is yet to fulfill it, he has turned deaf ear to it while pretending as though he never made that promise to Nigerians.
Come to look at it, even the oil subsidy which he ignorantly said was gone during his swearing in because he has not been to the office to look at the books has today turned out to be his greatest undoing resulting in the pervasive high cost of living and causing the government very bad image.
Beginning from the day he made the unguarded "subsidy is gone" statement, hardship and suffering has become unbearable to the citizens of the country. Till today has President Tinubu been able to account for the money received from the removal of oil subsidy? Today, the rewards for the innocent citizens is borrowing and living large with members of his cabinets and party members. Increase in electricity tariffs, indiscriminate bank charges, exorbitant import duties on essentials goods and many others. Yet his focus right now is about 2027 Presidential election where he plans to unleash more hardship on the people. The funniest situation is that many of his party members, the APC who are equally deeply impoverished by the misrule of the President are the ones still clamouring for his come back. You even see these set of people openly begging from those who are not even in politics who are struggling on their own to survive. Is this not abnormal?
Whenever the oppositions and other well meaning Nigerians are asking for accountability, especially when government officials are spending recklessly, you see the government using propagandists they engaged with tax payers money to fight the people that elected them. Displaying impunity by harassing and intimidating the opposition elements and other notable Nigerians for coming out to speak the truth. In recent times this intimidation from the ruling party has resulted in forcefully making the opposition to join the ruling APC. Ordinarily, the proper way for the ruling party to bring opposition parties' members into their fold would have been through performance in public office, translating into major infrastructural development. But the reverse is the case. They literally go to any length to blackmail some 'recalcitrant' opposition figures into submission.
Is it by intimidating the people who voted for them the new way to respond to a simple demand for accountability to Nigeria? We have seen citizens being molested, harassed and beaten in this country simply because they are demanding for their rights and against the ills perpetrated by the same government they suffered to enthrone. What an irony of fate.
Today all we are hearing is that allocations from the Federal to states and local government have astronomically increased. But do we really see the reality on ground in terms of development and provision of the dividends of democracy?
Recently in Edo State, SUV vehicles were purchased by the state government and presented to the 18 local government chairmen. During the presentation governor Monday Okpebholo said the gesture is to enable them discharge their duties effectively. The question begging for answer is that now that the allocation is huge must politicians take the lion share at the detriment of the welfare of the people at the grassroots? The most annoying part is that these so called set of chairmen were not elected to that office, rather they were appointed by the governor. How do you now justify this kind of ugly situation? Where is now the accountability we preach about?
Meanwhile, every day you see local government retirees and staff coming out to complain about the non payment of either their emoluments or salaries. But you see local government chairmen driving SUVs around with impunity campaigning for the reelection of President Bola Tinubu. Is this not insensitivity? If you are not a politician, you can go to hell appears to be what they're telling the average citizens.
How long can Nigerians bear this crushing hardship and suffering they have brought upon harpless citizens of this country? Local government chairmen who are supposed to be grassroots persons that stay and live in their respective communities, now cruise in SUVs in the State capital hardly sparing any time to visit the councils. That means they have separated themselves from the people they were supposed to provide for their needs.
As for the acting local government chairmen in the state, who is actually monitoring them? Because they know full well that it was not the people that elected them to those positions who are they now going to be accountable to?
Those days the only elected officials at the local government level were the chairman, Vice chairman, Wards Councillors and thereafter the chairman would then bring in Secretary to the council and some supervisory Councillors. But today you hear the chairman appointing all manner of persons such as chief of staff to the chairman and hundreds of SAs and SSAs which is not in the Constitution or the chairman's purview to make.
And all these elected and appointed officers mentioned above usually take home huge salaries and allowances. By the time you deduct these salaries and allowances from the allocation on a monthly basis, what do you think will be left to carry out developmental projects at the grassroots. Within their tenure you see them riding exotic cars, building houses and buying properties here and there. Why will they not do everything to get to those offices.
Despite so many anomalies going on at the local level, I can't remember hearing or seeing any local government chairman being prosecuted and jailed by ant-graft agencies for embezzlement. Since these agencies do not remember to beam their search lights to these third tiers of government, the elected officials there have no options than to continue to help themselves with available resources in the councils' coffers.
Any project without disclosure of the cost by public officers is a fraud and the people must resist such attitude from those serving at all levels of government.
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