Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT), has urged the anti-graft agencies in the country to make every state governor accountable for the security votes allocated to them in office.
Director of Compliance NACAT, Light Shedrack, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja.
Shedrack was fielding questions from newsmen on petition filed by NACAT at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a former governor of Akwa Ibom, Mr Udom Emmanuel, over misappropriation of state funds.
The NACAT director said it was high time the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) began to probe the spending of security votes allocated to governors.
He said most of the governors perpetrated heinous corrupt practices and defraud the their states in the name of security votes.
He said that the security votes did not belong to the governors but to provide security for the people, hence it must be transparently and judiciously spent.
Shedrack insisted that leaders were supposed to be accountable to the people who elected them into office and every kobo received by them must be accounted for.
“One kobo in the name of security votes does not belong to any governor. Yes, for any reasons, because security peculiarities. Yes, they are the chief security officer of that state.
“But there is need for accountability of that money; that money doesn’t belong to them. It is not their money. It is the state fund.”
He said that if they had spent N1 billion on protections of people, they should be bold enough to explain how it was spent.
He noted that most people fell for the claim that “security votes belong to the governors and could be spent anyhow they like’.
“That is where these people get so smart, the money belongs to the people and they have to account for how it is being spent.
“No security vote belongs to the governor. It belongs to the state that has it. They should account for how they spent it. It is not their money,” he said.
Also, Ojefia Justice, from NACAT, noted that security agencies saddled with the responsibility of carrying out investigations and prosecutions should be alive to their responsibilities in respective of the nature of the matter, so long it is a financial crime.
According to him, section 308 of the Constitution which guarantees governors’ immunity does not stop them from accounting for taxpayers’ funds.
He therefore urged the appropriate security agencies to invite those accused and those making allegations to substantiate and defend it.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NACAT had in its petition to the EFCC, accused the former governor of Akwa Ibom of misappropriating the state fund, especially the security votes.
It alleged that Emmanuel diverted the state’s funds through security votes, which were never given to the security agents that it was meant for.
The Anti-graft organisation noted that over N3 trillion was allocated to Akwa Ibom under the eight years tenure of Emmanuel but a staggering sum of N700 billion was diverted.
It stated that this was in addition to over N500 billion borrowed to undertake different uncompleted projects across the state.
The group informed the commission that over N4.5 billion was withdrawn and claimed to be given to security agencies within six months
It stated that over N10 billion was spent in just 2018 as security votes, in addition to the withdrawals of a total of N4billion from the governor’s office into a Wema Bank account number 0122882810.
According to the group, over N4.5 billion was withdrawn and claimed to be given to security agencies in a space of six months, while over N10 billion was spent in 2018 alone, as security votes.
The anti-corruption organisation accused the former governor of spending over N100 billion to build 31 industries that never saw the light of the day.
“The 31 industries, which gulped over N100 billion have not been built till now beyond the four he did that died after their commissioning.”
It therefore urged the EFCC to investigate the former governor and bring him to book if found wanting
