Nigerian public officeholders are known for amassing wealth, living ostentatious lifestyles and caring less about what the people feel about their acquisitions and lives of Arabian knights; but noticeable is that the harsh economic realities in the country and the belt-tightening measures of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, have forced some state governors to cut down on their profligate ways in office, while establishment fatcats at the Federal civil service, now moan about losing free money, murmur and bicker.
“This is the wrong time to be a public servant in Nigeria,” a senior public servant joked recently.
He was lamenting about new cost-cutting measures the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has introduced.
On May 29, President Buhari assumed office with a promise to eliminate waste, combat corruption and reintroduce sanity into public finances. Since then, he has cut the size of presidential entourages, only drawn half his salary and promised that anyone found guilty of corruption will face the full wrath of the law.
The President may be used to Spartan lifestyle, but many public servants in Nigeria have a reputation for making frequent foreign trips and for flying in First or Business class at taxpayers’ expense, in a country that has one of the largest figures of youth unemployment in Africa.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in November said President Buhari has saved Nigeria a whopping N1.4trn since assuming office with the new measures he introduced to combat waste and plug corruption conduits.
Public servants are known to hide under the guise of duty allowance and travel estacodes to pilfer from the public till. But with some new directives from the President, top civil servants may have to look for some smarter alternative sources of self-enrichment.
“Under this directive, no officer, including the minister, minister of state and the permanent secretary will be allowed to stay out of his station for more than one night. Any officer, whose job is taking out of station for more than a night, is expected to get the approval of the permanent secretary. This shall not exceed a maximum of two days. Any other stay that lasts for more than two days because of the peculiar nature of the duty shall be with the express approval of the minister.
“This will apply for both local and international travels. Of course, no officer will travel abroad without the explicit approval of the minister, even if cooperation partners or donor agencies are sponsoring such.
“These are cost saving measures, which will also enhance productivity, and we are all expected to abide by it. The days where we stay for as long as possible to accumulate allowances for ourselves are now over,” Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige told senior management staff of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in his office.
Also, recently, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun in line with the Federal government’s quest to reduce cost of governance as well as curb the incidence of mismanagement in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), announced the establishment of an Efficiency Unit (E-UNIT) in the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The principal objective of the E-Unit is to undertake reviews of all government overhead expenditures with a view to reducing wastage, promoting efficiency and ensuring quantifiable savings for the country.
Available records have confirmed that presently, the nation’s recurrent expenditure completely dwarfs capital expenditure by a ratio of 84:16. This includes non-wage related overhead expenditures such as travel costs, entertainment, events, printing, IT consumables, and stationery.
Civil servants who spoke to our correspondent expressed dissatisfaction and sadness with some of the new measures introduced by the President.
“You can see everyone is complaining that there is no money. The President has already done enough damage with the TSA (Treasury Single Account). Now they are placing all manner of ban on trips and so on,” one civil servant told our reporter on condition of anonymity.
Public commentators, however, say the new measures will be necessary as Nigeria, Africa’s top crude producer, adjusts to oil at below $40 a barrel. During the swearing-in of new ministers, they were also told that only duty-related foreign travel, approved by the President will be allowed.
They were also expected to reduce the number of vehicles in their convoys.
President Buhari had promised that the 2016 budget will be an expansionary one, with the government seeking to raise spending by more than 50 per cent on capital projects, and warned civil servants to shun corruption or be ready to leave the Federal civil service.
“This TSA has really cut most of our ogas (bosses) to size. Most of them are lamenting in Abuja. I am sure most of them, when they finish spending their remaining loot, will be forced to start selling their properties at giveaway prices,” a junior civil servant told our correspondent.
Many Nigerians have been disturbed by the rot and thriving corruption in the civil service, which has cost the country unquantifiable amount.
While many public servants have blamed poor wages for corruption in the civil service, the former head of civil service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi, rather attributes the high rate of corruption in the civil service to personal greed and lack of contentment, warning that henceforth, any civil servant caught in the act will face severe consequences.
“War against corruption is for all of us. Corruption has nothing to do with your income level, but personal greed. Civil servants can make the difference. There is a lot of misrepresentation out there about civil servants. We are tagged the most corrupt officers and this must change henceforth,” he stated.
President Buhari is not the only president that has introduced new cost cutting measures. Tanzania’s newly elected president, nicknamed “the bulldozer”, has become a Twitter sensation across Africa after introducing radical government cost-cutting measures.
Immediately after his inauguration, John Magufuli scrapped independence celebrations, choosing instead to spend money on sanitation, fight against cholera and provide new beds and equipment for hospitals.
Declaring it shameful to be “spending huge amounts of money to celebrate 54 years of independence when our people are dying of cholera,” Magufuli said that on independence day, every household will be required to participate in a nationwide cleanup campaign.
A state dinner for the official opening of the country’s parliament, for example, was going to cost 300 million Tanzanian shillings (£92,500). Magufuli slashed the budget to 25 million and ordered that the rest of the money be used to buy 300 hospital beds and 600 bedsheets.
He has cancelled Independence Day celebrations, limited foreign travels to only what is most essential, with those for a trip needing to get special permission from him or the chief secretary of the cabinet. He limited first and business class flights for all officials except the President, vice president and prime minister.
He has also cancelled all workshops and seminars held in expensive hotels, with ministries having to use their own boardrooms as well as removed sitting allowances for government employees.
In Nigeria, the cost-cutting measures at the Federal level have trickled down to some states.
ABIA
“Glamour has left Abia Government House”!
That was how a journalist who had covered Government House, Umuahia for more than 12 years summarized his observation as he watched Governor Okezie Ikpeazu drive into the Abia seat of power with a convoy of just security vehicles and a few aides as he arrived from a visit outside the state. The paucity contrasted with what obtained in the past when party members, women groups and dancers, saw off the governor’s entourage and welcomed him when he returned to the state.
On assumption of office on May 29, Ikpeazu announced to his admirers, an end to courtesy visits and congratulatory messages in radio and television.
He said the decision was not out of disrespect but to avoid distraction as the task before him was onerous. He announced to all that the encomiums can wait until he starts making meaningful impact in governance.
While the people were trying to come to terms with the rare stand of the governor, he shocked them all the more by announcing that he should not be addressed as “His Excellency and, or Executive governor.
The chief press secretary to the Governor, Mr Godwin Adindu told our correspondent that his principal has drastically reduced the cost of governance in line with the lean resources of the state as only expenses that are critical get a look in by the governor.
On the part of the governor, he has cut down his entourage, accommodating only his personal assistant, ADC, few personnel in his security detail and very essential government officials any time he has to travel outside the state.
“There are no more crowds, mobilised to accompany him when he travels either within or outside the state. His watchword is prudence and he has minimised his budget by dropping those things that do not add value to governance.
“Governors go with large convoys but Governor Ikpeazu travels with one or two cars, the aides that travel with him have reduced, while his security convoy is also minimal. All these are to cut costs including cost of fuelling a large convoy,” Adindu said.
OSUN
“No! No! No! No!, this is no time for merry-making. I am sorry, I can’t accommodate that now, there is fire on the mountain. You see, I am owing my workers, I have not paid them their salaries, I am seriously feeling the pain, I cannot see my people pass through this hardship and rejoice over it. No! My friend, just let me be.” Those were the reactions of Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to praise-singers who were welcoming him to a public function in Osogbo, the state capital.
In those days, when the economy of Osun State was good, the governor would at such function not only join the praise singers to sing, but dance and throw wads of crispy naira notes at them in appreciation.
It is a telling fact that over a year now since Governor Aregbesola was sworn in for a second term in office, he has refused to appoint commissioners and special advisers, just to save cost.
Besides, there has been no place for special assistants, and a legion of all manner of aides in Osun that characterize the ways of state governors in Nigeria’s political space.
ADAMAWA
Governor Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla of Adamawa State has taken far-reaching measures to reduce to the barest minimum the cost of governance, following the fall of crude oil prices in the international market.
Making the revelation in an exclusive interview, Special assistant to governor on Press and Media Affairs, Martins Dickson disclosed that the governor has in the wake of the dwindling revenue in the state, taken measures to cut cost of governance, block leakages and enhanced revenue generation in the state.
One of the measures, Dickson said, was to reduce the number of commissioners in the state, from 27 to 23 and also merge some ministries in the state. For his aides, the governor has only appointed a handful to save cost.
Dickson said the governor has also cut the cost of traveling expenses by making his journeys via commercial flights as opposed to what obtained in the past in the state, and would not even travel except for very pressing issues.
RIVERS
In Rivers State, the monthly security vote for the governor has been N1.5 billion and N18 billion annually, which is only second to Akwa Ibom State that gives out about N21 billion annually as security vote.
A source close to Government House, Port Harcourt, said Governor Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike used part of his security vote to acquire 65 operational vehicles and communication gadgets for the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies in the state last August.
There has not been any addition to the number of vehicles in the convoy of Wike since he assumed office on May 29, 2015.
Apart from a 2015 model of Range Rover Sport, which Governor Wike uses as his official vehicle, the governor has not added any new vehicle to his convoy.
It was further gathered that over 90 per cent of the vehicles in Wike’s convoy were vehicles he used while serving as the minister of State for Education during the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan, as well as those he acquired while running his governorship campaign on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike is yet to move into Government House, Port Harcourt, and probably to save the state some costs, still uses his personal vehicles for official duties, but it could not be easily ascertained if the state government picks the maintenance bill of the vehicles in his convoy.
But despite the present economic realities, the governor has rather continued to expand the number of his aides and from the look of things, may appoint more aides in the near future.
So far, Wike has 21 special advisers, many of whom are yet to be assigned portfolios; four senior special assistants and one special assistant, who is in charge of Electronic Media.
KWARA
Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has cut down the cost of governance in the state in line with the present economic realities. Even during good times, Ahmed had always maintained a modest lifestyle, and strives to cut cost in the management of the state’s affairs.
He has cut down the fleet of cars in his entourage. Unlike in the past when all the members of the state executive council would accompany him to every occasion, only the secretary to the state government, the head of service, the chief of staff and the senior special assistant on Media now accompany him to public functions.
-Leadership