Governors Meet EFCC, CBN, ICPC, Others over Management of Security Votes

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The 36 state governors in the country are expected to meet with economic and financial agencies in the country tomorrow, over the management of their states’ security votes.

The agencies expected at the meeting include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Security vote is a monthly allocation given to state governments for improved security.

The Director, Media and Public Affairs, Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, disclosed this in a statement.
He said the meeting was, “with a view to ironing out thorny issues surrounding their states’ security votes, towards establishing a better option of managing the funds.”

The meeting, according to an invitation issued by the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr. Asishana Bayo Okauru, would be virtual, to ensure full attendance by all the relevant officers in the matter.

The NGF stated that the meeting would also consider deepening the management and expansion of the cashless policy which took effect from the time of the redesigning of the naira last year, to further the financial inclusion of all citizens in the ensuing scheme of things, going forward.
He said the meeting was called at the instance of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), in its letter of March 30, which was addressed to the Chairman of the NGF and signed by the NFIU Director, Modibbo Hamman Tukur.

He explained that the letter stated that apart from the facilities for national financial inclusion, “it is also putting on the table the uniform development and cooperation on the national addressing and post code project, which will put Nigeria on the same pedestal as all advanced countries across the globe.”
Also on the agenda, “is a consensus on harmonising and updating the national tax collection and business entry standards and its requirements to help respond to the FATF and the EU grey listing in which Nigeria appeared.”

The statement noted that all governors had been advised to prioritise the meeting, “as its contents had been discussed at the NGF emergency meeting of Thursday 30th March, where it was unanimously agreed that a meeting with the afore-mentioned agencies was imperative.”