Governors, Governors-elect Fight over State Finances

Ahead of May 29 handover date, governors and the governors-elect have already engaged in a war of words over funds and projects perceived to be ploys to create problems for the incoming administrations, Adedayo Akinwale writes

As May 29, 2023 handover date draws closer, there is ongoing war of attrition between the outgoing governors and the governors-elect in some of the states of the federation where opposition parties triumphed in the March 18 governorship elections.

In the affected states, the governors-elect are raising eyebrows on loans, spending patterns and projects being undertaken by the outgoing governors in the twilight of their administrations.

More worrisome is the fact that some outgoing governors who are notorious for their bad performance in office for almost eight years are also engaged in some white elephant projects with the sole aim of siphoning public funds and obtaining loans.

The story is the same in Abia, Kano and Benue states. At the centre of their muscle-flexing is the management of their state finances, and contracts in the last phase of decision-making.  

While the outgoing governors have said they were still in charge of their respective states till May 29, the incoming governors have sounded a note of warning to commercial banks and international lenders that they would not honour any loan procured by the outgoing governors just a few weeks to the expiration of their tenures.

The fears of the governors-elect are genuine, given the penchant of some outgoing state chief executives to loot the treasuries of their states towards the end of their tenures.

For instance, in Abia State, the situation is intense where Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP) is battling Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Similarly, in Kano State, Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) is up against the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, while APC governor-elect, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia is tackling Governor Samuel Ortom of PDP in Benue State.

Expectedly, Ikpeazu and Ganduje have asked Otti and Yusuf to stop issuing public directives as there cannot be parallel governments in their states

Ganduje cautioned the governor-elect, Yusuf to avoid causing unnecessary confusion in the state, insisting that he was still the governor.

Yusuf had in an advisory recently asked local and international lenders, including banks to stop giving loans to the state government. The governor-elect in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanusi Tofa, specifically warned that any local or international organisation that issues a loan to the Ganduje administration from March 18 to May 29, does so at its risk.

He emphatically stated that any such loan facility approved and issued to the Kano State Government between the dates of election and swearing-in without explicit knowledge and consent of the incoming administration would not be honoured by the new administration.

But in a counter-statement by the Kano State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, Ganduje said issuing a directive on a matter affecting government’s laid down policy while the incumbent was yet to exhaust his full term amounted to jumping the gun on the part of the governor-elect.

Ganduje explained that as far as the division of power was concerned, he remained the governor with executive powers until May 29, pointing out that he reserves the right to carry out his functions in the public interest even on the eve of his exit.

Ganduje added that until the governor-elect subscribes to the oath of office on May 29, he remains what he is–a governor-elect and does not have the powers of the governor.

He argued that all the incoming governor could do would be to reverse some of the actions taken by his predecessor when he assumed office, if there is a valid reason to do so.

Also, the Ikpeazu-led government has condemned the recent freezing of the state accounts in commercial banks by the Federal High Court, Abuja. It accused Otti of being behind the court case and warned him against interfering with his administration.

The governor, in a statement by the Information Commissioner, Eze Chikamnayo, described it as a thoughtless move by misfits, aimed at grounding the Government and instigating civil unrest in Abia State.

He insisted that no arm of government has a lawful right to ground the other for any reason whatsoever. 

Ikpeazu noted: “Moreso, a newly elected governor should know that he was elected for four years and cannot interfere in the administration of an incumbent. He must have respect for the rule of law and constituted authority. We want to believe that those who want to lead us are not the ones behind the individuals involved in this heinous act as is now being widely speculated.”

Ikpeazu said the unintelligent and unprecedented mishap of shutting down the Government of Abia State, using a kangaroo judgment manufactured in faraway Abuja was a clear signal of the mindset of desperados.

The governor warned those he called emissaries of destabilisation to immediately retrace their steps and allow a peaceful and seamless transition of Power come May 29th, 2023.

He said security agencies had also been alerted to ensure that governance was not frustrated and law and order was maintained. He noted that there was absolutely no need for the hurry, harassment and arm-twisting tactics now being perpetrated by elements within the Labour Party in Abia State.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the lifespan of the current democratically elected administration subsists till 29 May and we shall exercise all powers thereto to maintain the peace, security and stability,” he said 

But Otti’s Media Adviser, Ferdinand Ekeoma, disassociated his boss from the suit against the government. He described the statement by the commissioner as a propaganda and misleading emotional blackmail of a failed government.  

He insisted that it was wrong for the government to falsely accuse Otti and attempt to misrepresent him in its efforts to mislead the public. He maintained that Otti was not involved, directly or indirectly, in freezing the said Abia State Government accounts and does not know the person or persons behind the action.

Ekeoma said the state government should be bold enough to tell the world that those they entered into a fraudulent contract with and tried to shortchange before leaving office were responsible for the litigation.

Also in Benue State, a leaked memo allegedly issued by Governor-elect Alia to the Managing Director of Benue Investment Property Company (BIPC), Alex Adum had  spurred further animosity between him and Ortom.

Alia, a Catholic priest, in a statement by his Director of Communications, Kulas Tersoo, had lamented that he had been totally sidelined in the governance of the state by Ortom.

He alleged that since he was handed over his Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the March 18 governorship election on the platform of APC, he had not been accorded the privileges due to him.

The governor-elect listed special accommodation, official cars and food as such rights. He argued that in normal circumstances, the President-elect and all governors-elect do not only receive detailed briefings on power transition, but are provided with security briefing reports.   

Alia pointed out that where there is a mutually defined concern about the development of a state, the outgoing governor willingly ceases to make unilateral decisions on policy issues once his successor is issued a Certificate of Return.

According to him, Ortom should make policy decisions only in due consultations with the incoming governor to avoid conflicting distractions on policy and administrative issues such as the ones under discourse.

The situation deteriorated when Alia after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja last Wednesday,  accused  Ortom of dealing badly with government workers, failing to pay salaries, gratuities and pensions.  According to him, the Benue civil service is about to collapse and is currently in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Alia frowned upon the condition of Benue’s civil service. He alleged the civil service is in a state of near collapse in ICU, promising to infuse life into it. He added that Benue owes a backlog of salaries, pensions and gratuities. He vowed to tackle the problems plaguing the state once he assumed office.

“It is sad that the life of civil service in the state is near collapse. It’s in the ICU, so I just need to get in there and infuse life in it and keep it moving. We have a lot of backlog of unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities. So, already I got much on the desk to keep a good focus on and I remain hopeful that I am going to do just that, ” said Alia.

Responding, Ortom described Alia’s comments on salaries and pension in the state as unfortunate. He said he inherited backlog of salaries.

 “It is an unfortunate statement coming from honourable Alias. I feel sad about what he said. Go back to history since I came in. The civil service have not been on strike, and there must be a reason for them to understand with me why they should not go on strike because my government has been transpiring and ensuring equity and fairness in all things that we do in Benue State.

“Go back to history when I took over in 2015, the total salaries arrears, pension and gratuity was over N70 billion, the federal government did an intervention, and we paid, and there were issues because people alleged that there well diversion of funds and so on.”

Meanwhile, two senior lawyers – Olalekan Ojo and former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Vice-President, Dr. Monday Ubani have affirmed the constitutional powers of governors to govern their states without interference from and to the exclusion of governors-elect.

Ojo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), described it as a constitutional and political aberration for a governor-elect to interfere in the running of a state, adding that the governor-elect does not become a governor until he is sworn in.

He said: “It is political exuberance. Whatever order he gives is nothing but a nullity; it is ineffective, misguided and has no legal or political force.”

To Ubani, “the governor-elect cannot order a sitting governor; he can apply pressure or raise the alarm when the sitting governor is doing something that isn’t right, or that he knows the governor is doing those things to create problems for the incoming governor.

“If the purpose of what you are doing is to create problems, then, the governor-elect has to raise the alarm so that the right thing is done.”

It is expected that the war of words between the governors and governors-elect would continue till May 29 when the governors-elect would be inaugurated.