We join other well-meaning Nigerians in condemning the last-minute spending sprees embarked upon by the Federal Government and some state governments which have just seven weeks more to vacate the seats of power.
In Benue State, outgoing Governor Samuel Ortom wants to build an airport and employ 2,000 teachers despite reportedly owing workers. In Kano, Governor-elect, Abba Yusuf, issued a public debt suspension advisory to local and international lenders against Governor Umar Ganduje’s intention to borrow N10 billion to install CCTV cameras.
The most outrageous is President Muhammadu Buhari’s proposed bid to borrow $800 million (N368.2 billion in official rate of exchange or N596 billion black market rate) for “palliatives” ahead of the removal of petrol subsidy come June 2023. This plan does not have the backing of Nigerians, and we advise the Buhari government to steer clear of it.
With less than two months to go, we do not see the rationale for the president or any governor to engage in the frantic search for fresh loans. It is a suspicious move that could be aimed at last-minute looting of the treasury and further burdening of the people with questionable loans.
Every outgoing government should, by now, be preparing handover notes and paving the way for a smooth transfer of power. Government is a continuum. What is the point of trying to achieve in seven weeks what could not be accomplished in eight years?
The Buhari government should leave everything about fuel subsidy removal to the next government. This administration was unable to gain the confidence of the people when it came to the issue of disbursement of “welfare” funds.
Its scandalous spending of over N500 million on “school feeding” during the total COVID-19 lockdown is yet to be satisfactorily explained.
The Buhari government has repeatedly bungled the subsidy removal issue. As an opposition candidate, Buhari had called fuel subsidy “a scam”. But as president, he has “removed” the subsidy several times, yet his regime set aside N3.4 trillion for subsidy between January and June 2023 alone! This issue has clearly defeated this regime. It should be left for a fresh hand.
We stand with Organised Labour in insisting that the only way to effectively abolish petrol subsidy is to ensure sufficiency in the local refining of petroleum products. We were promised that the resuscitation of our local refineries would be completed in December 2022 but this did not happen, and nobody explained why.
Whenever those to replace incumbent governments emerge, the outgoing leaders become “lame ducks”. Any move by them to engage in suspicious search for loans is liable to be seen as a corrupt venture. Besides, it will only be used to oil the regime’s wheel of nepotism.
Leave the subsidy matter to the next government.
