YET ANOTHER JAMBOREE IN LONDON

The workshop in London is ill-advised

Amid the prevailing economic stress and the foreign exchange crisis, the Accountant General of the Federation, commissioners of finance of the 36 states and other government officials last week held a workshop in London, United Kingdom, stirring up an outrage. Held for five days, most Nigerians reason that the workshop on Public Financial Management and International Public Sector Accounting Standards should have been held within the country to save costs. The explanation by the Office of the Accountant General that the event is organised annually and approved by the National Economic Council has been dismissed as lame.

Angry Nigerians and civic groups have described the trip as the height of financial recklessness, insisting that the accountant general could have attended the event alone and replicate the knowledge to the commissioners on his return, or bring the trainers to the country or indeed, let the workshop be done virtually. But the accountants have good company as the event was a mere replication of what many governors do on a regular basis. Indeed, they have turned workshops, seminars, and foreign programmes into one big racket.

Earlier in the current administration, many of the 36 state governors shamefully trooped to Kigali, Rwanda, for a three-day leadership retreat on “skills to support deep listening and self-awareness”. And so, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) the governors and their retinue of aides incurred huge costs at public expense on airfares, hotels, allowances, and other incidentals. Many of them are still owing salaries of workers running into billions. 

As things stand, many of the actions of the current administration are increasingly at odds with its pronouncements, prompting many to believe the country is still witnessing false dawns. Besides his bloated cabinet, Bola Tinubu has been accused of only paying lip service to the need to reduce the cost of governance. Notwithstanding the platitudes, there is still a general unwillingness to face up to tough choices. As part of cost-trimming measures, the president recently announced a reduction of the size of his entourage on local and foreign trips. This was in the aftermath of the blistering criticisms of Nigeria’s 1,411-member contingent to the COP 28 climate conference in Dubai, and other related public spending patterns. His recent state visit to Doha, Qatar, with children and all, has exposed the statement as hollow. And last month, the presidency released a list of government agencies to be merged after directing an implementation of the Steve Oronsaye report. A few days later, the president appointed a Director General for the National Agency for Control of AIDS (NACA) which he had directed to be merged with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)!

Nigeria is not only at a security crossroads, but it is also in fiscal distress. Unfortunately, it is difficult to understand the choices being made by government officials at all levels. That’s why we demand more accountability. Since the removal of petrol subsidies and the floating of the naira, the living condition of millions in the country has gone from dire to catastrophic. With inflation at more than 31 per cent many Nigerians cannot have a decent meal a day. It is time for those in government to scrutinise public expenditure and ensure every naira counts. We cannot afford to fritter away borrowed funds.

Good governance is that which is focused on the people, their safety and welfare, the optimal allocation of scarce resources and the effective implementation of policies for service delivery. For now, many of the people in government are not doing that as they are unwilling to put country above self. Many prefer to pilfer the nation’s wealth.