“Corruption returned to Nigeria after I left office” – Obasanjo tackles governors, National Assembly

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday argued that he effectively fought corruption while in office, just as he accused some state governors in the country of living like emperors while demanding sacrifice from the citizens in the face of austerity.

Obasanjo made the statements at the inaugural conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (IBSGPP) at the University of Ibadan, where he was chairman of the occasion. The two-day conference has as its theme, ‘‘Getting government to work for development and democracy in Nigeria: Agenda for change.’’

Obasanjo stated that as president, he recognised corruption as a major impediment to Nigeria’s development and therefore set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to confront the malaise.

The former president then argued that things changed when he left office and corruption returned to Nigeria with a vengeance, draining billions of dollars from the nation’s economy.

Obasanjo took the opportunity to question leaders who neglect their responsibility to develop the country, and demand sacrifice from the citizens while they live in opulence. He also called for transparency at the National Assembly.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other dignitaries at the event; credit: Twitter/IBSGPP

He said, “Nigeria is a country where some governors have become sole administrators, acting like emperors. These governors have rendered public institutions irrelevant and useless. Is there development work going on in the 774 constitutionally-recognised local government councils, which have been merely appropriated as private estates of some governors?

“Some governors have hijacked the resources of the local governments and this has crippled the development of the local government councils in the country. The National Assembly must also open its budgets to public scrutiny.”

The former president said the drastic fall in the price of oil in the international market had exposed the weakness of governance in Nigeria, while also noting that Nigeria was racing towards becoming a nation of debt with its attendant burden on the citizens.

Obasanjo stated, “The Minister of Finance recently announced that the 2016 budget deficit might be increased from the current N2.2tn in the draft document before the National Assembly, to N3tn due to the decline in the price of crude oil.

“If the current fiscal challenge is not creatively addressed, Nigeria may be on its way to another episode of debt overhang which may not be good for the country.

“It will be recalled that a few years ago, we rescued Nigeria from its creditors with the deal in which the Paris Club of sovereign creditors wrote off $18bn of debt, Africa’s largest debt cancellation. Nigeria then used windfall earnings from oil export to pay off another $12bn in debts and arrears.”

Story: Punch