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| PROF NWOKEJI |
Chris Nwokeji, a U.S
based educationist from Imo State has come hard on President Muhammadu Buhari for running a government which
lacks focus and definite programme of action, especially in the area of
anti-corruption which seems to be his major focus.
He said that stories of
monumental corruption in the states are disturbing and wondered why the federal
government has not made conscious efforts to check the ugly trend.
According to him, the
states are alleged to be riddled with fraudulent activities that ought to have
irked the president to devise means of arresting the situation which may
include but not limited to proposing an amendment to the immunity clause of the
Constitution to the National Assembly insisting, that Section 308 of the Constitution is the albatross of
political leadership in Nigeria.
He made the observations when he spoke to
press men recently in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
Nwokeji reasoned that it is not enough to pursue
recovery of stolen public funds while further looting of alarming levels is
still said to be going on in various tiers of government, especially the
states.
“Something definite has to be done to see that funds being recovered do
not go down the drains" he explained.
He said, it beats the imagination how the president
hurriedly approved bailout funds to the states without scrutinizing their
accounts to see how they have spent huge allocations that accrued to them from
the excess crude account.
He further stated that the federal government seemed
to care less about how the governors spent the fund which is a loan to the
states saying, such negligence seems to rubbish the president’s hard earned
integrity as a man who detests corruption.
He counseled the president to lead the way in
pressing for the amendment of the immunity clause, as according to him, it is a
constitutional cover for criminality and fraudulent activities of those who
preside over our common patrimony.
The Imo state-born prince questioned the situation
in most state where the governors have not bothered to conduct local government
elections since the expiration of the tenures of those elected in 1999 but
rather resorted to unconstitutional transition committees which they use to siphon
funds belonging to the 3rd tier of government.
According to him, governors have tactically avoided
the crucial issue of making sure that elected persons preside over the affairs
of the local governments in Nigeria at all times, as guaranteed by the Constitution.
He said, a forward looking federal government and legislative houses ought to
devise means of compelling the states to act in definite line with the
Constitution they swore to protect, which provides in Section 7 (1) inter-alia; “The
system of local government by democratically electedgovernment councils is
under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the Government of every
State shall subject to section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence
under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such
councils,”
How then can anyone explain the subversion of this
law by our imperial governors without attracting sanctions by the law? This is
quite unfortunate and seems to be a conspiracy against the people. He concluded
by saying that the president should rise to the challenge of giving the nation
a new face at this point in the history of the country, else posterity will not
be fair to him.
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