Ifeanyi Okowa, the Delta State governor, on Friday, December 2, 2022, distanced himself from those President Muhammadu Buhari accused of looting local governments allocation.
The President had on Thursday, December 1, 2022, blamed governors for the underdevelopment of communities in the council areas, insisting that State governors were tampering with the monthly allocation to the local councils in Nigeria.
Reacting to the accusation in Asaba through his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, governor Okowa who is also the Vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stated that it was unfortunate for president Buhari to have made such a “blanket statement.”
“I want to say that President Buhari, as one who has all details about issues in the country, knows the governors who fall into that category of the so-called ‘thieves’ he was referring to.’
“Dr Ifeanyi Okowa does not belong there. He was one of the first governors to embrace local government autonomy when it was agreed on, just as the president did with the judiciary and the legislature,” he stated.
How Governors Steal Local Government Funds – President Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, December 1, 2022, indicated that governors steal from local government council allocations.
The President, who spoke extempore after delivering his speech at the presidential parley for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, at the State House, underscored that personal integrity is fundamental in the operations of government.
He recalled an instance of how a state governor would receive allocation on behalf of council areas in his state only to remit half of such allocation to the council chairmen.
These actions, he said, portrayed the sort of corrupt practices that is now symptomatic of Nigeria in dispensing resources meant for local council administrations, thereby undermining development.
Buhari, in his address, congratulated the members of the Senior Executive Course 44 on the successful completion of their course. He challenged them to revitalise and reinvigorate leadership at the various levels of establishments.
Despite Poor Economy, Nigeria’s Finance Minister Says Country ‘Isn’t Broke’
Despite the rising cost of Iiving which has pushed the majority of Nigerians into multidimensional poverty the Federal government has insisted that Nigeria is not broke.
Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, Budget, and National Planning, made the declaration at a news conference in Abuja to unveil the administration’s scorecard in the sector from 2015 to date.
The Minister, who was flanked by her information counterpart, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, however, admitted that Nigeria only has some revenue challenges to meet its obligations.
Petrol Subsidy Will End After Buhari Leaves Office – Finance Minister
Zainab Ahmed, the minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, says the Federal Government will do away with petroleum subsidy by June 2023.
Ahmed said this on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, in Abuja, during a press conference to mark the end of the 28th National Economic Summit, NES.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that fuel subsidy gulped N2.565 trillion between January and August 2022.
Also, in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the Federal Government proposed to spend N3.3 trillion on fuel subsidy between January and June 2023.
According to Ahmed, removal of fuel subsidy is part of the Federal Government’s medium-term plan in the budget.
She, however, said that the challenge is how to go about removing the subsidy.
“First, we have to engage. We have already engaged with the states and the public before it was approved as part of the medium-term plan.
“We have to do it by systematically informing the citizens about the size and the quantum of the fuel subsidy.
Source: Daily Post
