The Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, at a recent media event, blew the lid on what civil servants know how best to do: making sure that all yearly allocations to them are exhausted either by hook or crook. Actually, he used the word frenzy to describe their inordinate haste in coming up with all manner of projects and programmes aimed at depleting their accounts before the year ends.

For those conversant with civil service practice, this is certainly no news. What is news is that it is still happening in this era of change and we ask: does President Muhammadu Buhari know? Because we think he should and must stop the mess. In budgeting, there is the recurrent expenditure which has to do with expenses relating to day to day operations as well as staff emoluments. There is also the capital budget which, as its name suggests, has to do with fixed costs. What the CBN governor is complaining about is the capital budget which, if the civil servants had had the good conscience to implement as at when due, the nation’s infrastructure will not be as deplorable as it is.

However, now that Emefiele has drawn the president’s attention to this pervasive malfeasance in the civil service, we hope that immediate action will be taken to verify and authenticate the genuineness of those projects and programmes especially why they had to wait till the very end of the budget’s life span.

When Buhari came on board and made anti-corruption one of the pillars of his administration, we pointed out on this page that the place to start is the civil service because we know, as a matter of fact, that no politician can get away with any corrupt activity without the collusion of the civil servants. We warned that he will have problems with those set of Nigerian workers and it is beginning to manifest.

No political office holder can get away with corrupt intentions without the civil servants whose job it is to do all the paper work. They teach them the ‘ropes’ with all the negative connotations. Civil servants are adept at compromising any ‘difficult’ political office holder who comes in wearing a holier-than- thou toga. They teach the compliant ones how to steal public money and where to hide it.

That what the CBN governor complained about at that media event is still going on in the public service, even with all the stench oozing out of the system as a result of the actions of highly placed political office holders and the challenges of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), is a demonstration of the average civil servant’s incorrigible propensities. They do not believe in the anti-corruption posture of the Buhari administration and this is proof. For them, the politicians can go ahead and decimate themselves.

In our opinion, one way we think the government can rein in the civil service is by reviewing its rules that insists on the permanency of the civil service job. In other words, a civil servant willy-nilly retires on the job regardless of his or her doubtful competence and efficiency. At worst, they get queries but life goes on till retirement do them part. That is not acceptable any more.

We urge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to follow up on Emefiele’s revelations and deal with the situation appropriately. Henceforth, this country needs a morally accountable civil service. They must not be shielded from the clean sweep of the broom.


http://leadership.ng/opinions/editorial/485165/mdas-spending-spree-buhari-know

Lalasticlala, ishilove

Him follow dey shop d yam nah.

Niaja need spiritual cleansing and deliverance all over

Nigeria is on the brink, everyone should be prepared.

Thumbs up Emefiele
You're have indeed embraced the war on corruption
All hands must be on deck
We need more whistle blowers to help to our Baba clean the mess
The corruption precedence set by PDP's 16yrs misrule shall be ejected.
I trust PMB
corruption shall not thrive again

Buhari is turning a deaf ear to it

fistonati:
Buhari is turning a deaf ear to it

Buhari is not goatluck jonathan that doesn't give a damn