Groups, Lawyers Kick Against N9b Monthly Security Votes Paid Governors

*Say vote is unconstitutional

Niger Delta-based groups and lawyers at the weekend kicked
against the continued payment of billions of naira to governors of
the oil-rich region as security votes.

The groups and the lawyers wondered why they should be receiving
security votes when the security situation in the nine states of
the region is not improving.

While some argued that security vote has no place in law, others
advised that the budget for security received monthly by the
governors were not properly utilised and therefore should be
halted.

The lawyers- Aluzu Ebikebuna and Oghenejabor Ikimi – spoke to
The Nation against the backdrop of a report by an online
encyclopedia, Wikipedia, which showed that eight of the nine Niger
Delta governors receive about N9bn monthly as security votes.

The groups that also reacted to the report are Urhobo
Progressive Union (UPU), Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic
Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) and Policy Alert.

Wikipedia had in the report described security votes as a huge
amount of money allocated to the 36 states in Nigeria for the sole
purpose of security services.

Based on Wikipedia figures on Niger Delta states, Delta State
governor receives the highest of N2bn monthly followed by Akwa Ibom
State with N1.8bn and Rivers State with N1.5bn.

Imo governor receives the lowest with N333.3 million monthly
while his counterparts in Abia get N700m; Edo, N900m; Cross River,
N500m and Ondo, N600m.

The monthly figure for Bayelsa State Governor was reportedly
shrouded in secrecy, though unconfirmed sources put it at over
N1bn.

It was gathered that the governors are expected to use the
“outrageous” amount of money estimated at over N108bn yearly to
tackle security threats such as kidnapping, pipeline vandalism,
among others in their domain.

But there has been rising insecurity in the region with the
governors most times absolving themselves and blaming security
challenges in their states on the Federal Government.

Ebikebuna, a Bayelsa State-based lawyer, said the governors had
no justification to keep receiving such huge amount of money in the
name of security votes. He described the practice as
unconstitutional.

Aluzu said there was no place in the constitution for security
votes, adding that the law only made provisions for a contingency
fund in Section 83 of the Constitution.

His words: “The difference is that, unlike contingency fund,
security vote does not need the sanction of the Assembly to be
withdrawn from. In a constitutional democracy like Nigeria, its
practice is illegal and unconstitutional.

“This illegality is heightened by the fact that its utilisation
is outside the normal budgetary process in most cases as the funds
are unaccounted for. The funds disbursed from security votes are
not audited by the Auditor-General contrary to section 125 of the
Constitution.

“Governors have continued to use the security situation of their
state to hew huge amount of money under security vote. It is almost
like a catalyst for security problem in states.”

Ikimi, who is also the Coordinator of Centre for the Vulnerable
and Underprivileged (CENTREP), said security votes was illegal as
it lacked constitutional backing.

He said payment of security votes to governors should be stopped
forthwith because it is a precursor of corruption.

“In the past when there was no security votes, the level of
insecurity was tolerable but now that we have security votes,
insecurity is at its highest level. Security vote have not come to
check insecurity but to worsen it”, Ikimi added.

A faction of UPU, the apex Urhobo socio-cultural organisation,
urged the Federal Government to order the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) to compel the Niger Delta governors to
give account of their security votes.

Its leader, Olorogun Joe Omene, accused governors in the region
of siphoning security votes for personal use, warning that ” many
days are for the thief but one day for the owner of the house.”

He said collection of security votes is akin to “stealing of
public funds by trick. Such funds, according to him, could be
channeled into tackling the huge infrastructure challenges and
poverty in the region.

He said: “The present government at the centre should use the
EFCC to compel state governors to account for the use of the money.
We understand that governors just collect the money and nobody
questions its use.

“This is grossly unfair. Look at our roads in Delta, but we
blame the Federal Government whereas the money can be used for the
development of the state.

“The irony is that if there is a major security breach, people
will point fingers at the Federal Government whereas state
governments are collecting humongous sums in the name of security
votes. What do the Niger-Delta governors do with it.

“How can one man collect so much yet people are kidnapped and
killed on a regular basis?”

National President of MOSIEND, Mr. Kennedy Tom-West, said if the
governors should be allowed to keep receiving such money, there
must be constitutional backing for it.

Tom-West advised that such vote should be made to pass through
the National Assembly for legal and constitutional backing to
remove the veil covering it.

He regretted that security vote, a brainchild of military
regimes in the country to illegally and unconstitutionally siphon
public fund, found its way into democratic government.

He rationalised that successive governments in the 36 states had
considered security vote as a legitimate window and conduits to
“drain, misappropriate and embezzle unimaginable amount of state
resources.”

A non-governmental Organisation, Policy Alert, demanded the
abrogation of security votes.

Its Executive Director , Mr. Tijah Bolton Akpan, said governors
of the Niger Delta had not properly deployed the “humongous
security votes” in a transparent and accountable manner.

According to him, the state chief executives have “corruptly
used the money to fund their political machinery and ambitions
rather than use it to adequately support the police and other
security agencies.”

He said: ”If they(the governors) were getting all that money
then we have to look at it from two angles. First is its
accountability and transparency. Second is the actual deployment of
the security votes.

”Now at the level of accountability and transparency there is
very little that the governors do to ensure that the people know
what they use these resources for because when you go to the budget
it is provided as lump sum. People cannot know if it is used for
buying guns, bullets or vehicles.

”At the level of actual implementation you see the very poor
number of security vehicles governors donate to police formations
in their states. This tells us that they pay lip service to the
issue of security.

Some months ago, you saw what happened. We saw people taking to
the streets robbing in broad daylight and killing and maiming at
will.

”It shows something is lacking. Security is not all about
providing the hardware. It is also about the intelligence which the
government could help the police with.”.

Culled from Thenation

*Say vote is unconstitutional

Niger Delta-based groups and lawyers at the weekend kicked
against the continued payment of billions of naira to governors of
the oil-rich region as security votes.

The groups and the lawyers wondered why they should be receiving
security votes when the security situation in the nine states of
the region is not improving.

While some argued that security vote has no place in law, others
advised that the budget for security received monthly by the
governors were not properly utilised and therefore should be
halted.

The lawyers- Aluzu Ebikebuna and Oghenejabor Ikimi – spoke to
The Nation against the backdrop of a report by an online
encyclopedia, Wikipedia, which showed that eight of the nine Niger
Delta governors receive about N9bn monthly as security votes.

The groups that also reacted to the report are Urhobo
Progressive Union (UPU), Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic
Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) and Policy Alert.

Wikipedia had in the report described security votes as a huge
amount of money allocated to the 36 states in Nigeria for the sole
purpose of security services.

Based on Wikipedia figures on Niger Delta states, Delta State
governor receives the highest of N2bn monthly followed by Akwa Ibom
State with N1.8bn and Rivers State with N1.5bn.

Imo governor receives the lowest with N333.3 million monthly
while his counterparts in Abia get N700m; Edo, N900m; Cross River,
N500m and Ondo, N600m.

The monthly figure for Bayelsa State Governor was reportedly
shrouded in secrecy, though unconfirmed sources put it at over
N1bn.

It was gathered that the governors are expected to use the
“outrageous” amount of money estimated at over N108bn yearly to
tackle security threats such as kidnapping, pipeline vandalism,
among others in their domain.

But there has been rising insecurity in the region with the
governors most times absolving themselves and blaming security
challenges in their states on the Federal Government.

Ebikebuna, a Bayelsa State-based lawyer, said the governors had
no justification to keep receiving such huge amount of money in the
name of security votes. He described the practice as
unconstitutional.

Aluzu said there was no place in the constitution for security
votes, adding that the law only made provisions for a contingency
fund in Section 83 of the Constitution.

His words: “The difference is that, unlike contingency fund,
security vote does not need the sanction of the Assembly to be
withdrawn from. In a constitutional democracy like Nigeria, its
practice is illegal and unconstitutional.

“This illegality is heightened by the fact that its utilisation
is outside the normal budgetary process in most cases as the funds
are unaccounted for. The funds disbursed from security votes are
not audited by the Auditor-General contrary to section 125 of the
Constitution.

“Governors have continued to use the security situation of their
state to hew huge amount of money under security vote. It is almost
like a catalyst for security problem in states.”

Ikimi, who is also the Coordinator of Centre for the Vulnerable
and Underprivileged (CENTREP), said security votes was illegal as
it lacked constitutional backing.

He said payment of security votes to governors should be stopped
forthwith because it is a precursor of corruption.

“In the past when there was no security votes, the level of
insecurity was tolerable but now that we have security votes,
insecurity is at its highest level. Security vote have not come to
check insecurity but to worsen it”, Ikimi added.

A faction of UPU, the apex Urhobo socio-cultural organisation,
urged the Federal Government to order the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) to compel the Niger Delta governors to
give account of their security votes.

Its leader, Olorogun Joe Omene, accused governors in the region
of siphoning security votes for personal use, warning that ” many
days are for the thief but one day for the owner of the house.”

He said collection of security votes is akin to “stealing of
public funds by trick. Such funds, according to him, could be
channeled into tackling the huge infrastructure challenges and
poverty in the region.

He said: “The present government at the centre should use the
EFCC to compel state governors to account for the use of the money.
We understand that governors just collect the money and nobody
questions its use.

“This is grossly unfair. Look at our roads in Delta, but we
blame the Federal Government whereas the money can be used for the
development of the state.

“The irony is that if there is a major security breach, people
will point fingers at the Federal Government whereas state
governments are collecting humongous sums in the name of security
votes. What do the Niger-Delta governors do with it.

“How can one man collect so much yet people are kidnapped and
killed on a regular basis?”

National President of MOSIEND, Mr. Kennedy Tom-West, said if the
governors should be allowed to keep receiving such money, there
must be constitutional backing for it.

Tom-West advised that such vote should be made to pass through
the National Assembly for legal and constitutional backing to
remove the veil covering it.

He regretted that security vote, a brainchild of military
regimes in the country to illegally and unconstitutionally siphon
public fund, found its way into democratic government.

He rationalised that successive governments in the 36 states had
considered security vote as a legitimate window and conduits to
“drain, misappropriate and embezzle unimaginable amount of state
resources.”

A non-governmental Organisation, Policy Alert, demanded the
abrogation of security votes.

Its Executive Director , Mr. Tijah Bolton Akpan, said governors
of the Niger Delta had not properly deployed the “humongous
security votes” in a transparent and accountable manner.

According to him, the state chief executives have “corruptly
used the money to fund their political machinery and ambitions
rather than use it to adequately support the police and other
security agencies.”

He said: ”If they(the governors) were getting all that money
then we have to look at it from two angles. First is its
accountability and transparency. Second is the actual deployment of
the security votes.

”Now at the level of accountability and transparency there is
very little that the governors do to ensure that the people know
what they use these resources for because when you go to the budget
it is provided as lump sum. People cannot know if it is used for
buying guns, bullets or vehicles.

”At the level of actual implementation you see the very poor
number of security vehicles governors donate to police formations
in their states. This tells us that they pay lip service to the
issue of security.

Some months ago, you saw what happened. We saw people taking to
the streets robbing in broad daylight and killing and maiming at
will.

”It shows something is lacking. Security is not all about
providing the hardware. It is also about the intelligence which the
government could help the police with.”.

Culled from Thenation