Peter Obi’s speech at The Platform on Saturday, October 1 set the Nigerian social media sphere on fire. Obi left office as the governor of Anambra state on March 14, 2014, more than two years ago, but the style of governance he adopted then has helped his state to relatively remain economically stable at a time Nigeria is in a recession.
Here are some of the important lessons from Obi’s speech:
The cost of governance in Nigeria is a huge problem that is yet to be addressed
Peter Obi said if the huge cost of governance in Nigeria today is reduced, Nigerian governments at various levels will have enough money from the country’s income to execute their projects and programmes.
According to the former governor, many state governments spend on things that could be done away with. He also highlighted that some other spending can be reduced to help the government save and spend more on other sustainable projects.
“Out of the N11.4 trn expenditure expected this year, the states have N5.4 trn. I believe out this N5.4 trn, we can save N1 trn and we won’t borrow that,” Obi said.
The federal government’s 2016 Budget is about N8 trn. According to the FG, the country’s oil and non-oil revenues will only give N6 trn, creating a deficit of N2 trn. The government says it has plans to borrow the rest of the needed money in order to adequately implement the budget.
Peter Obi stated that over N1 trn can be saved from cutting off some excesses in government spending. He said about 12-15 percent of the allocation [estimated N600 – N800 bn] to states is used in running the Office of the Governor. “If you decide to reduce it to between 3-5 percent, the cost will be between N200 – N300 bn. Thereby, you [will] save about N450 – N600 bn,” Obi noted.
Based on his experience as a governor, he also stated that competitive procurement by state governments can help them save up to N600 bn in a fiscal year. Obi went on to explain that more money could be saved by doing away with the unconstitutional Office of the First Lady that is been operated in most Nigerian states today. At the same time, he said the number of cars in governors’ convoys can be reduced too. “…If you look at what I have showed you now, you are going to save over a trillion naira, and I can tell you it is practical,” he said.
Obi’s speech focused on state governments, leaving out the federal government that incur more than 50 percent of the country’s total expenditure. Notable among many reducible expenses incurred by the FG, the Presidential Air Fleet has not less than 10 aircraft on it and as at August this year, the government had spent over N19 bn on maintenance in the last one year.
At a time when Nigeria is in a recession, there is ongoing consideration by the federal government to sell some of the country’s functional and productive assets, with little or no focus on what could be saved if the cost of governance is looked into.
Transparency remains a big issue in the Nigerian government
Obi’s speech gave an overview account of how he ran the Anambra state government during his 8-year tenure. Although this is coming after he has left office, but it still shows transparency.
In Nigeria today, many citizens rarely know how public funds are been spent by their leaders. For instance, the federal government said it has released a sum of N725 bn for capital projects so far in this budgetary year, but there are no available public data on how and what those monies were/are being spent on.
Similar to this are the announced bail outs given to states by the FG within the last one year. There is virtually no information on how state governments appropriate the emergency funds to meet the needs of the states.
Nigeria’s National Assembly is also one of the least transparent arms of government. A sum of N115 bn was allocated to the legislators in the 2016 budget. Up till this time, the promises made by the leadership of the Assembly to make public the details of its budget have not seen the light of the day. Nigeria currently ranks 136 out of 168 countries in Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index.
The present Nigerian government needs to do much of work than talk
Nigerians hear more of talking from government officials than action. Surprisingly, despite Peter Obi’s brilliant performance in Anambra state some years ago, not a lot of people were aware of these measures he took while he was governor. Perhaps this was because he more focused on working than talking.
Commendably, as a result of Peter Obi’s effective cost-cutting measures, as at the time he completed his tenure, Anambra state had in its coffer a sum of N60.67 bn and another $156m in Foreign Currency Investment.
In July, President Muhammadu Buhari approved some cost-cutting measures. Compared to Peter Obi’s cost-cutting measures, Buhari’s paltry and less effective measures were still projected as adequate by the government, despite the fact that many Nigerians know where the better chunk of the country’s resources is wasted.
This is one reason why some people feel it is not surprising to see the President appoint his fifth media aide last week. There is need for the government to allow its work speak for it. Nigeria’s economy is currently in serious mess and it requires drastic economic recovery measures to save it.
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