We are going after corrupt govs –Jonathan

 by Ifeanyi Onuba

President Goodluck Jonathan
| credits: nigerianbulletin.com

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said no corrupt governor or subsidy thief would go scot-free. He assured that  the Federal Government would go after them and ensure their prosecution.

Jonathan said,  “We are going after governors who commit various economic crimes and corrupt practices with impunity. As you may be aware, government is taking every legal measure to ensure that those who defrauded the government in the petroleum subsidy scheme are made to pay back the stolen funds. They will also be  severely punished.”

Jonathan  spoke  through Vice- President Namadi Sambo at the formal presentation and launch of a book, “Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria,”in Abuja.  The book was  written by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Serving governors, under Section 308 of the Constitution, enjoy constitutional immunity from prosecution but some former governors had been tried and convicted for corruption.

Former governor of Delta State, James Ibori,escaped jail in Nigeria but the  long arm of the law caught up with him London where he  is currently serving a  jail term  for economic crimes.

Ex-governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbnedion, was similarly tried, convicted and fined N3.5m by an Enugu High court in December 2008. The judgment which  was described by the public as a slap-on-the-wrist followed a plea-bargain deal between him  and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Jonathan’s predecessor in Bayelsa State, ex-governor Diepreye Alamieseigha, was tried and sentenced to two years imprisonment in 2007 by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Many  oil marketers suspected of culpability in the N1.7bn petroleum subsidy scam are currently undergoing trials  in the country.

Jonathan said his reform agenda relies on a corrupt-free system  in order to build strong institutions that  would  guarantee sustainable development.

He said that the problem of creating jobs and fighting corruption needed urgent attention.

The President  said, “Reforms perform better in an atmosphere of democracy and freedom and we are continuing to work to ensure that sound democratic principles are held in the country.

“The challenges of creating jobs and fighting corruption need urgent attention and I am glad to reiterate that these concerns are already being tackled in the current transformation agenda of this administration.”

Jonathan described Okonjo-Iweala as a shining light in  the country, adding that the documentation of her experience would help to transform the economy.

He said, “Okonjo-Iweala is indeed one of our shining lights and I will like to congratulate her for finding the time, in spite of her busy schedule,  to document her experience in this book.

“The central message of this book is the hope that Nigeria can be reformed and grow to become one of the most dynamic economies of the world.

“In the past, there was a lot of perception about Nigeria as many people claimed that the political and economic future of this country can never be reformed and I commend this book for documenting some of the important reforms which have been carried in Nigeria since our recent democratic transition.”

Former Commonwealth Secretary-General and chairman at the event, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said there was need for a change in government structures to enable the country achieve its developmental goals.

He pointed out that the current strategy where recurrent expenditures are marginally reduced would not have any significant impact on development objectives.

Anyaoku said, “The country’s chances of realising its rightfully desired development objectives would be greatly enhanced if the country adopts a major restructuring of its present governance architecture.

“I do not believe for example that we can succeed in reducing significantly the level of expenditure on recurrent expenditure, which at the moment is averaging 74 per cent, which I gather that the budget for the next year hopes to reduce to something like 68 per cent.

“When you look around the world, and, particularly, around developing countries that started the same stage as we did, you will find that their expenditure on recurrent heads have been far less than what we have been spending.

“Because what we have been spending on recurrent budget has left us and continues to leave us with too little for capital development which we need.’’

He pointed out that the cost of maintaining the lifestyles of politicians under the existing structure would make it difficult to reduce the cost of governance.

He said, “I do not believe that the present structure we have will arrest the destructive competition for the control of power at the centre, while we sustain the largely non-viable states which have become the custom to the notion and practice of sharing the national cake from the centre.

“It is this destructive competition for control of power at the centre that exacerbates the primordial instinct in our people and also fans the flame of the religious and ethnic differences with the result that rather than being a source of strength, our pluralism has become the harbinger of division and disunity.”

Pointing out that   military intervention culminated in the unitary federalism which the country is currently practicing, Anyaoku advocated a return to true federalism.

Okonjo- Iweala said that the book was not a biography but that of hope for the Nigeria, especially the youth.

She said, “This is a book of hope and to tell the young people that they do not need to listen to all the bad things being said about Nigeria. There is hope that Nigeria can be reformed and there is no need to have  a sense of hopelessness in our country.’’

Reviewer of the book and  a Professor of Economics at the Oxford University,London, Paul Collier, said the book would help the country to learn from its past failures to achieve success.

He said Nigeria’s reliance on oil revenue had been chaotic, adding that unless it  diversified its economy, government’s revenue would continue to fluctuate.

Collier  “A combination of sound rules and critical understanding is what is needed to transform the economy and Nigeria needs to learn from its failures to rebuild its future.

“Oil revenue which Nigeria depends on is very volatile thus making government revenue to fluctuate. What Nigeria needs is to begin to smoothen its oil revenue in a consistent manner.”

He advised  the Federal Government to carry out what he called ethical, pragmatic and practical reforms in various sectors of the economy.

 Punch