President Muhammadu Buhari has accused some Chief Executives of encouraging corruption in the local government system, thereby inhibiting development at the grassroots.
The President made his accusation yesterday in Abuja, at a parley with members of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) No. 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, Plateau State.
The President narrated his personal experience on stemming the tide of corruption in the local government system after the presentation of the report of NIPSS Course SEC 44, which had as its theme: “Strengthening Local Governance in Nigeria: Challenges, Options and Opportunities”.
After listening to comments on the Course 44 presentation by some members of the Federal Executive Council, who aired their personal views on enhancing the autonomy of local governments, the President narrated his own experience on the treatment of local governments by some State governments.
According to him, “What they did…this is my personal experience, if the money from the Federation Account to a State is about N100 million, N50 million will be sent to the Chairman, but he will sign that he received N100 million. The Governor will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants to share it with.
“And then the Chairman of the local government area would be left to see how much he must now pay in salaries, and doesn’t give a damn about development. When he pays the salaries of the ‘big man’, the balance he will put in his pocket. This is what’s happening. This is Nigeria. It’s a terrible thing; you cannot say the person who was doing this is not educated”.
President Buhari urged public officeholders to be guided by their conscience and personal integrity wherever they find themselves.
He pledged that the recommendations contained in the presentation of SEC 44 will be painstakingly studied by the Government with the view to implementing its recommendations.
Declaring that his administration has done so much in building trust between the government and the people, the President noted that the report would largely assist in the provision of good governance to the people at the grassroots levels and by extension win back their trust in government.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NIPSS, Prof Ayo Omotayo, said the Course participants undertook study tours of 14 States of the Federation, six African countries, and six countries outside Africa.
