September 28, 2019
TUNDE AJAJA examines the sustainability of governors appointing hundreds of aid workers, together with their struggle to implement the N30,000 minimum wage, in the context of declining revenues for all levels of government and the need for more funds to develop infrastructure.
One of the most common campaign promises across the three levels of government in Nigeria, which is almost as old as the country itself, is the promise to cut the cost of governance.
This statement, ostensibly, is often an acknowledgement of the compelling need to reduce the obvious waste in governance and, more importantly, to channel more funds to development projects that have been grossly in short supply and largely in the decrepit state across the country.
Yet political office holders, particularly governors, often carry on with the status quo, the glamorous style of governance, after assuming office.
From perception, one of the regular ways this misuse of assets show is the quantity of associates designated by the governors.
The assistants, some of who don’t have portfolios, likewise draw their pay rates and different advantages from the as of now contracted open handbag, while the greater part of the governors who delegated them state they don’t have the assets to pay the new the lowest pay permitted by law of N30,000 to government workers.
Within Nigeria’s political space, these appointments are essentially not new, taking examples from recent history.
A previous Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, maybe agitated the political space in 2010 when he endorsed the enrollment of 15,000 extraordinary aides, from the state’s 226 wards.
A statement made at that time by Aminu Iyawa, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
Six years later, a survey from Nigeria’s News Agency found that on average, governors have an average of 100 political appointees, including commissioners, amounting to a total of 3,600 aid workers.
Furthermore, from discoveries, the greater part of the states have month to month pay charges that are as high as their month to month designation, and the circumstance is increasingly dubious in states with low inside created incomes.
Therefore, capital projects typically have little or nothing which snowballs into the decline and deficit of infrastructure across the country.
Naturally, delegating associates is a standard over the world, however the concentration in this setting is the point at which the number is high.
For example, in 2016, in addition to its 14 commissioners, Niger Governor Alhaji Abubakar Bello reportedly appointed 317 aid workers.
A review of the panel shows that there were 15 special experts, 25 senior special advisors, 274 special assistants and 3 special zonal advisers.
The media assistant for the governor, Mr. Jide Orintusi, said that the appointments would deal with political, economic and security issues.
Ironically enough, the Governor said the government borrowed N400 million a month to pay salaries on 26 April 2016.
About 80 per cent of the country’s revenues are spent on wages and other recurring expenses of around N2,3 billion monthly wage.
In addition to his twenty commissioners, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State had also appointed 210 assistants from that time. Governor Darius Ishaku was quoted as saying at a news conference that the appointment of the assistants was intended to empower people as there were no industries to work for them.
“I decided to enlarge the number of appointments in order to spread the welfare to the citizenry,” he said, although the state has a monthly wage bill of N4.4bn compared to its allocation, which is usually lower than N5bn.
It was said that Governor Samuel Ortom had about 70 political appointments in Benue State, including 13 commissioners and 20 special advisers.
The governor once regretted that the State would not be allowed to support the N7.9 billion salary bill, as it is sometimes allocated to N5bn by the Federal Government.
Governor Emmanuel Udom was also said to have 20 committees and 145 aid workers in Akwa Ibom State, consisting of special advisors, special aid workers and assistants to protocols.
Governor Ben Ayade was said to have 84 special advisors and special assistants in Cross River State, with the exception of his 28 commissioners.
Ayade, at an association with writers, said he chose to delegate more assistants to make occupations for the jobless and diminish excess to the base. The state’s pay bill was said to be over N5bn, which is nearly at standard with its month to month distribution.
However, the NAN report indicated that special assistants earn about N120,000 while special consultants earn about N350,000 per month.
The governor also had 21 commissioners and 45 political aides in Bayelsa State from that time on, whose salary was around N180,000 a month, respectively.
It was also said that the then Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, appointed 66 assistants at one point in his administration. The list consisted of 30 special assistants, 20 senior special assistants and 16 special consultants, “to help the governor deliver good governance.”
Because of the need to pay and motivate political associates, especially those who worked for their victory at the polls, it has become a standard for governors in Delta, Rivers, and nearly all states to appoint multiple political aides.
In 2017, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State’s Director-General, Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, told PUNCH Saturday in an interview that Bello had one of the country’s leanest governments with 67 aides, saying Bello’s successor had more than 200 appointees.
Fanwo explained that the appointments were spread across the 21 local governments, and he said it was for geopolitical balance when asked why there were three to four people advising the governor on the same thing.
Even the latest in the endless series of these appointments seems instructive.
Approximately two weeks ago, a news emerged that Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi declared his intention to appoint an additional 800 aids as part of efforts to encourage people to contribute to the state’s growth.
During a breakdown in the meeting, Umahi said that more named members will be added to the current 185 Executive Auxiliary Senior Technical Assistants and Technical Assistants, together with the State Executive Council members, members of the Assembly, Local Government Members, the latest appointees and other stakes.
“We would be getting about 800 EAs, STAs and TAs by the end of this meeting and from this moment, the task of making similar appointments is taken from me and given to the people from the ward level.” he said.
“This means that we will appoint three more TAs from each ward of the state and the stakeholders will sit and nominate two, while the party will nominate one.”
“We would approach the House of Assembly on the issue of liaison officers, to bring their salaries to N60,000 in order to create additional ones, especially for women (widows).
“We intend to have two liaison officers in the wards – one for men and one for women and if you add party executives at the ward level, we will have about 4,000 appointees. Anyone that would be appointed would have something doing, at least possess one hectare of farmland, which will be adequately profiled.”
While, on the other hand, they complain that they do not have enough money to give officials a new N30.000 minimum salary, less than one-fourth of the income of each one of their helpers.
But while maintaining their support, and even more when the need arose, they suggested that the minimum wage of the organized labor would only be N22,500.
In reality, the Governors said that in November 2018 they could not afford to pay N30 000 under the auspices of the forum of Nigerian Governors unless the mobilized employees had requested them to fire workers or the Federal State had decided on a revision of the income budget.
Nevertheless, the governors are not confined to this pattern of appointing multiple political supports, although their custom tends to be much broader.
The then President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, had for example over a hundred aides.
As of 16 July 2019, six media aid and 27 other aid funds are named by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Fémi Gbajabiamila, through geographical zones ..
The President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, his Deputy, Ovie Omo-Age, and the Vice-President, Idris Wase, are also supported.
In this regard, Mr Liborous Oshoma, a public affairs analyst, said that many aids do not eradicate poverty; they are also a source of laziness, the right of thinking and the desire to make difficult work unattractive.
“People who are supposed to be farmers, entrepreneurs, professionals and factory workers tend to be laid back because of the free money. Instead of developing the state and creating wealth, they (governors) appoint many advisers.” he said.
“It is ridiculous and very shameful. When the world is diversifying into a knowledge-based economy, our politicians are giving out hand-outs in the form of cash, tricycles, motorcycles and appointing advisers, some of whom don’t have portfolios. Some have never even been to Government House before.”
Oshoma warned, however, that it would not be advantageous to maintain this practice as some could become violent if such supplies stopped coming.
When asked about the way out, he said, “It’s too late in the day for us to say we can get out of it easily; the only way we can get out of it is when the idea of relying on monthly allocation stops. If crude oil dries up today, every state would find alternative sources of making money, including taxes. When that happens, people would hold the government accountable.”
Also, a Strategy and Development professor, Anthony Kila, said the issue was not what one political party was doing or what one government was doing, but the fact that politics had become one of Nigeria’s biggest industries, which he said, made a lot of people move to be there and have a lot of help.
Kila, an International Director of Studies at the European Centre of Advanced and Professional Studies, added, “We as the people have a duty of creating a system where there is value in being an artist, a painter, a carpenter and other jobs, rather than rushing to be in power because people know it is a very lucrative venture. However, that idea is ridiculous and it shows you that some people in power don’t know how to think.
“Instead of creating jobs, they want people to come and share from the money and that is the problem.”
Speaking on the way out, he said it was important to speak out for the phenomenon to be fixed for people with a speech, clarity of mind and courage.
“It is rational, informed and independent citizens that do not depend on the government that can talk and there is a need to amplify their voices. Also, there is a need to recognise the private sector to show that there is life outside the government.” he added.
“We also need a constitutional provision that sets the framework for expenditure and revenue in all tiers of government, because what we have is a poverty of the mind and a mockery of the system and we can’t continue like that.”
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