Governors Spend Their Security Votes Without Accountability

Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark has accused many state governors of the Federation of spending their security votes on frivolities and without accountability.

Naija News reports that Clark stated this in his 688-page autobiography titled: “Brutally Frank” launched and made available to the public last week.

The former Federal Commissioner said most of the governors spend their security vote as they will, and no one knows how much they earn as security vote.

Clark, therefore, called for a reduction in the security votes funds sent to governors, adding that there must be a re-organisation and a restructuring of the Government Houses to reflect the economic situation in the country.

He said: “Governors spend their security vote as they will, and no one knows how much the security vote amount to. The elected members of the House of Assembly are their nominees and dare not challenge them. I think an inspection should be done to limit the amount of security vote governors and every other person in government are entitled to.

“A situation where governors are driven in a convoy of cars, all the food they eat in the Government House is free, and everything they do in the Government House is at the expense of the masses who live in deplorable conditions (is not acceptable). The communities in their territories do not have access to basic amenities, yet these governors, in spite of the recession that is in this country, are comfortable in the Government Houses they occupy.

“They have not shown their remorse. It is not enough to say, “I will earn only half of my salary”; there must be a re-organisation and a restructuring of these Government Houses to reflect the economic situation in the country.

“I recall watching the Senate debate on the 2017 budget on television, and what were the Senators debating? In Government Houses, cutlery is bought every year for millions of naira. Then one Senator asked the question: ‘What happened to the cutlery that was bought the previous year or even two years ago?’ Nobody cares about that.

“This is very unfair and not good enough. A new twist to corruption is the unnecessary laws which governors get their stooges in the State Houses of Assembly to make so as to give them (the governors) life pensions. I consider this the height of their recklessness. What they get in terms of benefits in just four years is more than what any ‘faithful’ civil or public servant can get in 30 or 35 years of active service.”

Clark also condemned the Life Pension Law for former governors despite all they had acquired while in office.

He added: “Two examples of such irresponsible laws are The Life Pension Law introduced by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State and the former Governor and Deputy Governor’s Pension Bill 2014 introduced by former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Obot Akpabio.

“It will be recalled that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was Governor of Lagos State for eight years, was the first Governor to introduce this obnoxious pension law prior to leaving office, despite all he had acquired in his eight years as the unchallenged Governor of Lagos State.

“It will be necessary to reproduce the full text of the law, which gave Tinubu, free houses in Lagos and Abuja. In fact, his house on Bourdillon Street, Ikoyi, is indeed a good example.“