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From Wole Adedeji, Johnkennedy Uzoma and Sam Ebifegha
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With the 2019 general elections over and preparations in top swing for the swearing in of newly elected helmsmen in states, allegations of last minute appointments, contract awards and other unwholesome transactions are rocking some of the states.
The allegations are strident in some, especially where the incoming governor is from a different political party to the incumbent.
States where new governors are taking over include Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Adamawa, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Gombe, Kwara, Zamfara and Borno. Opposition parties won the governorship elections in Oyo, Kwara, Bauchi, Adamawa and Imo states.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha in Imo State has received the widest criticism over what the incoming administration and other eminent citizens of the state termed last minute withdrawal or transaction with financial institutions operating with the state government.
The Governor-elect Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, raised the alarm over alleged withdrawal of N1.7 billion by Governor Okorocha from the treasury.
He raised the alarm few weeks after he was declared winner of the election in the state
Giving the situation on ground he warned banks and financial institutions operating in the state against opening fresh financial transactions on behalf of the government. He warned that any bank or financial institutions that do business with the outgoing government does so at its own risk.
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Ihedioha expressed dismay over the “reckless, irresponsible and selfish applications and requests for loans, overdrafts and other credit facilities being hurriedly and wickedly made by the outgoing Governor Rochas Okorocha, on behalf of Imo State Government.”
He warned all banks and financial institutions, having business relationship with the state government against granting or giving approvals to such loans, overdrafts and credit facilities.
Since Ihedioha emerged, as the governor-elect, there has been series of reports about deliberate and desperate moves by the outgoing governor, his family members and aides, moving huge sums of money from the bank accounts of the government and moving equipment and materials out of Government House and government offices.
The governor has been accused of submitting N4 billion budget to the state House of Assembly for passage to cover up expenses incurred from the conduct of the last local government election, but which the lawmakers described to be on the high side.
The governor-elect also after a careful study of the report submitted to him on land matters, directed the suspension of all further processing, issuance, execution and collection of Certificates of Occupancy in respect of land within the Owerri Capital Territory.
He said civil servants, public servants, special aides and government officials in all departments of government, whose schedule of duties touches on and concerns land matters, including, but not limited to, the Registry of Deeds, allocation of State Land, processing, issuance, execution and delivery or release of Certificates of Occupancy, are to be guided and strictly comply with the above directive.
He insisted that any person found wanting in these directives, would have himself or herself to blame.
The PDP accused Governor Okorocha of plotting to frustrate its governor-elect with the rash of withdrawals as well as made last minute appointments.
State Secretary of the party, Ray Emeana, in a statement accused Okorocha of appointing his cronies to the state’s Judicial Service Commission less than two months to the expiration of his tenure.
According to the party, the move was to ensure that Ihedioha did not start on a good footing after his swearing in on May 29.
“The hurried, belated and strange appointments by the outgoing administration of Owelle Anayo Rochas Okorocha designed to frustrate the incoming government of the governor-elect, Emeka Ihedioha, has been brought to the notice of the Imo State chapter of the PDP.
“This latest attempt by the outgoing governor who has inflicted untold hardship on Imo people to appoint his cronies as members of the Imo State Judicial Service Commission, barely two months left in its administration, is one case too many.
“The Imo State PDP hereby condemns this move as it is a political tool, calculated to impugn on the independence and sanctity of the judicial arm of government in Imo State,” the statement said.
But Okorocha has dismissed all the allegations leveled against him.
Okorocha not only said he has the constitutional right to make appointments; he also dismissed the allegation of huge withdrawal of money.
He declared that his government has not borrowed any money from any banks and does not owe any banks in the state or in any part of the country.
He also stated categorically that his administration does not owe any worker, insisting that he has paid every worker up till date.
But despite the governor’s chest beating, his government is allegedly owing pensioners millions in pension arrears without any effort been made to clear the backlog. Even when the governor made several promises to pay up the huge amount of money by conducting several screening to ascertain who would benefit, nothing was done, even after receiving the bailout and Paris Club refund from the Federal Government.
Similarly, workers in the state are not left out as many of them are being owed of their March salaries.
In Ogun State, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, only last week appointed 18 new permanent secretaries from the state civil service.
The governor also approved the appointments of new general managers for the state broadcasters, Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation, OGBC, and Ogun State Television, OGTV.
He also appointed Clerk to the state House of Assembly as the new Head of Service.
The outgoing governor also approved the appointment of the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the newly established Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology, MAUSTECH, Abeokuta as well as the institution’s Governing Council.
Prior to these appointments, the state chapter of the APC had raised the alarm over last minute transactions the administration was carrying out.
Publicity Secretary of the Caretaker Committee of the party in the state, Tunde Oladunjoye, had alleged that the Amosun- led administration has engaged in last-minute awards of contracts, withdrawals from treasury, sales of land and illegal recruitment of cronies into senior positions of the civil service, to tie the hands of its successor.
“It has come to our notice that the outgoing administration of His Excellency Senator Ibikunle Amosun, is busy with last minute awards of contracts, selling and auctioning of government properties, and secret recruitments into the civil service in a way to tie the hands of the incoming Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.
“While we find these reported last-minute awards of contracts, withdrawals from treasury, sales of land and illegal recruitment of Senator Amosun’s cronies into senior positions of the Ogun State Civil Service, very shocking, our party wishes to warn the members of the general public that such hurried transactions would not necessarily be binding on the incoming administration.
“We urge Ogun State’s top senior civil servants not to be part of the desperate moves of the departing governor to undermine socio-economic stability of our state, by engaging in, condoning or being part of any act that breaches or constitute a flagrant abuse of laid-down rules, regulations and due process.
“It is our belief that an administration with less than two months to handover, should, by now, be preparing its handover notes for a smooth transition instead of digging pits for the incoming government.
“May we also reiterate here that all loans, overdraft and financial obligations that do not follow due process, including the approval of the Ogun State House of Assembly, would not be honoured. To be forewarned is to be forearmed,” the statement stated.
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The schism in Ogun State is as a result of the troubled election in the Gateway State. Although, Amosun is an APC governor and also contested the senatorial election for Ogun Central Senatorial District on the platform of the party, he supported Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, to be his successor and in the process, worked against the interest of his own party.
The situation is not different in Oyo State, where the Governor-elect, Seyi Makinde accused Governor Abiola Ajimobi of attempting to cripple his yet to be inaugurated government by making huge withdrawals from the treasury, few weeks to his handing over.
Makinde, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr Dotun Oyelade, Ajimobi’s plan was to deplete government treasury so that it would be difficult for his government to take off.
In a statement, Oyelade queried what he called “questionable special projects for which N2.475 million have been hurriedly released for each of the 33 local governments and similar amount released to the Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency, OSTROMA, for the same purpose, totalling N4,950,000,000.”
The amount, he alleged, was taken from the Excess Crude Account and released through the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
There is no significant difference in Kwara State, where preparations for the May 29 change of baton has not taken any significant shape because of the lack of fusion the Transition Committee set up by government and the 80-man Committee put in place by the Governor-elect, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed only inaugurated his own 24-member Committee last week, almost two weeks after his awaiting successor had done his own.
The government appeared to have stirred the hornet’s nest when it was alleged last month that the state government directed the governor-elect to bring a 10-man team to join the government’s Transition Committee.
Already, tongues are wagging in the state as to what would happen immediately power changes hand on May 29, because of the generally talked-about mountain of debts the Governor Ahmed-led government would be leaving behind for the incoming one as well as salaries allegedly owed workers.
As at Friday, March 12, more than 75 per cent of workers and pensioners in the state have not been paid because it was alleged that government asked the workers to sign documents, admitting that they were being paid all along full percentages of their various salaries and allowances, but the workers allegedly declined.
Already, the 80-man Transition Committee, put in place by the governor-elect has been broken into sub-committees that would effectively investigate different segments of government activities with a view to come up with facts and figures that would guide the new government.
As Nigerians look forward to May 29, 2019 for the handing over ceremonies of newly elected Governors in states where governorship election was recently conducted, our
In Nasarawa State, the stage is set for the handing over of the mantle of leadership from the outgoing administration to an incoming government to be headed by Governor-Elect, Abdullahi Sule.
The 23 years old solid mineral state has been ruled by three democratically elected civilian governors, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, late Aliyu Akwe Doma and the incumbent, Umaru Tanko Almakura since the rebirth of Nigeria’s democracy in 1999.
While Abdullahi Adamu who ruled for eight years and Aliyu Akwe Doma, for four years, were both elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Almakura was elected under the CPC, now All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2011.
Some residents of the state, who described the achievements of the 12 years PDP-led administration before the coming of the APC government as below expectation, have since given credit to the outgoing government due to its numerous achievements.
According to them, despite the fact that the APC administration inherited huge financial debt and abandoned projects from the PDP government, it has been able to transform the state to admirable level, thereby giving room for people to have high expectations from the incoming government.
Already a 31-member Transition Committee has been inaugurated by the outgoing governor.
The Committee, which is headed by the Deputy Governor, Silas Ali Agara, has the deputy governor-elect, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe as co-chairman.
The committee, whose responsibility is to plan and execute a befitting and hitch-free handover, has also been empowered by Governor Almakura to review his administration’s record of achievements from May 29, 2011 to May 29, 2019.
Findings indicated that the committee has since commenced its assignment so as to beat the four weeks deadline given to it by the governor to submit its report.
Suffice it to say that unlike the previous two governors of the state who at various times handed over debt running into millions of Naira to incoming administration with dozens of abandoned projects, the outgoing government has since told the people of the state that it’s not going to leave behind any debt.
In addition, it has promised to ensure that all ongoing projects initiated by the administration would be completed before the handing over date.
If these promises could be achieved, then one will have no option than to say that the outgoing administration has written its name in the Guinness book record of the state.