Elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark has charged numerous state governors in the Federated States of using their security funds carelessly and without reporting their spending.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, Clark made this claim in his 688-page autobiography titled “Brutally Frank,” which was released and made public last week.
The majority of governors, according to the former Federal Commissioner, spend their security vote as they choose, and no one is aware of their security vote earnings.
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Therefore, Clark asked for a reduction in the security votes monies given to governors, noting that the Government Houses need to be reorganised and restructured to reflect the nation’s economic position.
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.
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“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.”
In spite of all the wealth prior governors had amassed during their terms in office, Clark nevertheless criticised the Life Pension Law.
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.
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“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.“
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