A Budget of Fraud?
By Suleiman Salihu, Ph.D
Nigeria is a nation of endless dramas, theatrics and controversies. While you are still chewing a drama skit another drama of gargantuan proportion is already waiting to arrest your interest.
As the nation is just smarting from the reality of the State of Emergency in Rivers, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is suddenly facing recall by her constituents over her alleged actions and inaction at the upper Chambers of the National Assembly.
Out of the blues came blistering allegations by the immediate past Senator from Ogun Central district and former Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, that a senator representing Ogun West, Solomon Adeola, had used his position as chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation to insert a personal project he (Amosun) is donating to his Egba kismen in Abeokuta into the National budget and had diverted the funds into another project entirely!
Senator Amosun raised an alarm that the project signboard at a Library project in Abeokuta facilitated by Senator Adeola reads ‘Ake Pavilion roofing’ which is part of a personal project he is donating to his people.
The former Governor who had maintained a back seat approach since he left office in 2019, issued a statement insisting that the construction of the Aké Palace Pavilion is entirely from his personal purse and not from the FG and condemned attempt by the Ogun West senator for inserting the project in the national budget.
Apparently rattled by the discovery, Senator Adéọlá, who incidentally is from a different senatorial district, issued a rebuttal explaining that he didn’t divert the project as alleged.
He however conceded that he inserted the Aké Pavilion roofing in the National budget upon requests by some of his supporters, adding that it was only after the budget had been signed and money released that he realized the project was being privately funded. Hence he used the released fund to build a library in Abeokuta!
Expectedly, Opinions were sharply divided over the matter. While some saw nothing wrong in what Senator Adéọlá did, others insisted that he had abused his exalted position as chairman of the Senate committee on appropriation to oppress his colleague senators from Ogun Central and Ogun East by encroaching in their territories with federal projects without their knowledge. They argued that is a slap and an indirect indictment in them.
Of a truth, there is no reason why a senator from Ogun West should be facilitating projects in Ogun Central and Ogun East without the collaborative efforts of the senators representing these districts. It is indicting these senators and patently immoral.
But I view this drama differently. I see it from a national prism. I view it as the continuation of the fraud and decay in our Public financial system.
I see it from the strange perspective of ranking and privileged senators being able to insert whatever projects that catches their fancy into the national budget, get it passed, get funds released for them and then divert it to anywhere they desires!
This is exactly what Senator Adéọlá from Ogún west confessed he did here!
Apart from failing to do his due diligence in knowing the history of the Ake Palace Pavilion construction before inserting it’s roofing into the national budget, he used his position to get funds released for the roofing and then diverted it to the construction of a library! Forget where the Library is located.
The project is under the ministry of housing. Will he tell us that officials of the ministry are unaware funds meant for roofing is being used to construct a library? They apparently looked the other way after their something had happened!
Pray what happens to public financing code! Gone to the dogs!
Under public financial regulations,this is called MISAPPLICATION OF FUNDS. And it’s a criminal offence!
Misapplication of funds means using funds captured under a budgetary headline for a different purpose other than what is stated in the budget. For instance using funds meant to purchase chairs for an office to purchase air conditioners for the same office!
It’s patiently illegal!
But this is what the Ogún West senator gleefully affirmed he did!
What I found concerning is how do we have confidence in our budget when some privileged lawmakers can easily insert projects say the construction of private estate for their girlfriends, into the national budget and funds would be released for it whereas our universities and our health sectors are dying daily begging for injection of government funds?
The revelation from Abeokuta immediately throws a challenge before us as a nation. We need to carefully investigate and identify who are the offenders and get them punished to serve as deterrence for future offenders who would like to upend out public accounting system.
The expose also imposed an immediate burden on the National budget office to vet all projects that would be captured by the national Budget before and after they are passed at the national assembly.
Finally national assembly members should henceforth be barred from inserting obnoxious projects into the national budget. We are always regaled with tales of NASS members tampering and padding the national budget. This particular abuse should be a good time to put an end to it.
****Suleiman Salihu, Ph.D, is a public affairs analyst. He writes from Lafia, Nasarawa state.
