It's one week, one Fayose drama these days.
Say hello to the new world order.
This week, Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose boarded an Abuja bound plane with one aim in mind--take on finance minister Kemi Adeosun concerning why the Budget Support Facility (BSF) due his State, had been withheld.
According to reports, Fayose arrived the premises of the finance ministry in the FCT at about 3pm, enraged and belching smoke from both nostrils.
It has become a familiar Fayose sight.
Adeosun was unavailable when Fayose stormed Abuja. She should thank her stars.
The minister was attending the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking with reporters moments later, Fayose said Ekiti hadn't received its allocation for January because of politics.
The Governor belongs to the opposition PDP.
"The minister called yesterday to assure me that she would look into the matter", Fayose said. "But
you should appreciate that civil servants in Ekiti are restive, having
spent their money for Christmas and New Year celebrations. I met the PA (Personal Assistant) who assured me that the matter would be resolved.
“Part
of the main allocation had been paid and the budget support is about
N1.1billion, which has not been paid. I believe that it was a mix-up and
she told me that the issue was not political", Fayose said.
On
Thursday, the finance ministry explained that it had withheld BSF for
Ekiti because the State hadn't met certain conditions attached to
previous disbursements.
Director of Information in the federal ministry of information, Salisu Na’Inna, said Ekiti had been warned about flouting stipulated terms of agreement that goes with the allocations.
Na'Inna added that the State had ignored those warnings.
According to Na'Inna:
“The
Ekiti State government and all the other participating States are aware
of the consequence of failure to comply with the full conditions and it
is not the first time that a State would be stopped from accessing the
facility due to non-compliance.
"In
the course of its normal duties, the ministry of finance has the right
to query, suspend or withhold funds as part of the conditions of the
Budget Support Facility.
“The process is
for the commissioner of finance of any State or the Governor having
issues to contact the federal ministry of finance and resolve the issues
without resorting to the media because such issues are of a financial
nature and therefore, confidential; they are routinely resolved amicably
by the parties involved.
“The federal ministry of finance wishes to
restate very strongly that the Budget Support Facility is a conditional
programme and the Federal Government would not be intimidated or
threatened in the discharge of its duties.”
Na'Inna's comments were all Fayose needed to appear before the TV Cameras hours later.
The Governor accused the federal government of deliberately withholding the support fund.
"Ekiti allocation has not been released", Fayose thundered, exhaling furiously with each sentence.
"The
budget support which we signed ...Ekiti is the only State not paid for
the month of January. And it seems it is deliberate. Because, up till
now, no excuse was given for this action.
"I have written to the federal ministry of finance", Fayose added, brandishing a letter before the press. "My commissioner has been there. As well as to the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria). Nobody is ready to talk to us.
"I
want to appeal to the federal government...I want to appeal to the
minister of finance, not to allow themselves to be used to oppress and
suffer the innocent civil servants of my State. This State has been
peaceful. This State has been running peacefully well, supporting Ayo
Fayose at all times.
"If this is a political attempt or a deliberate attempt to cause problems in this State, it will not stand".
Sigh.
It says so much about the fake federalism we practice in Nigeria when States still rely wholesale on the center to survive.
Fayose's
rant would have been unnecessary if States were empowered to generate
their own funds and use a portion of those to develop their States or
regions.
This habit where State Governors head to Abuja, bowl in hand, to beg for funds monthly, is one of the ills of our democracy.
Governors should innovate and generate revenue for
their States. They should strive for some level of financial
independence. It is a worry that only a few State Governors bother to
don their thinking caps.
Now more than ever
before, fiscal federalism is badly needed to restructure our ailing
country. We have to empower the federating units.
Sadly,
this week, we saw the side of Fayose we are now used to--the 'area boy'
part he loves to immerse himself in. This was sticking to persona.
Surely,
all of this could have been resolved without the Governor jumping
aboard an Abuja bound plane and calling a press conference?
Surely?
Not
many State Governors will storm the ministry of finance to physically
demand that their State allowances be released and then appear before TV
cameras to threaten fire and brimstone.
READ ALSO: Singer allowed politicians to use him
Not many will throw up politics as reason why
allocations were being withheld even though that may well be a factor--
Fayose has been a self-confessed antagonist of President Muhammadu Buhari and his governing APC.
To ask Fayose to be a gentleman in 2017 would be asking for the impossible. We just love him this way.
Hopefully, the finance ministry disburses monies due to Ekiti on time in the future, just so we can get on with our lives.
The
bigger issue after this Fayose drama recedes, will remain--Nigeria will
probably never emerge out of the woods until the 'federation' is
fiscally retructured.
We've played the Ostrich on this subject for far too long.
0 comments:
Post a Comment