By Etcetera
(Etcetera wants Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari to get in the game and become more active. Photo: Filed)
Wake up, President Buhari. Get in the game; you have left the door open for more Federal Government bailout. The question is, why would the Federal Government get involved? And, beyond that, why should it? Can the Federal Government really help a state like Osun? Hell no!! The predicament of these states is due primarily to two causes. One is mismanagement, which has amounted to billions of their total shortfall. The second is the money that was borrowed through the years for unseen projects and other unnecessary obligations. Disappearing jobs, empty factories have all played a role, too.
There are so many reasons why bailing out cash-strapped states that mismanaged public finances with over N7bn should be prohibited henceforth. We are talking about public funds here and Nigerian taxpayers need to watch their wallets. If not, there will be a call for a federal bailout to finance the purchase of private jets for state governors. The National Assembly should act now to ensure taxpayers aren’t forced to pay for years of mismanagement by government officials. Failure of some of these states to properly manage their funds might be rooted in an unholy alliance between the governors and their godfathers. The issue of ghost workers is another thing that should be looked into. It is a fact that some of the commissioners liaised with the permanent secretaries to milk the states by employing ghost workers.
Leaving aside the argument of the merits or demerits of federal relief for these financially troubled states, the way these governors squander public funds makes it morally troublesome and that’s to put it lightly.
It would have been understandable if this bailout was as a result of natural disasters like earthquakes or …Read More
Source:: The NET
