₦airaland Forum

Validated:
I know that there are many people who cannot read or too lazy to read. I have therefore highlighted key areas for such individuals.

I was at the 2012 ICAN Conference and the Present Minister of Power, Works and Housing was a guest speaker on October 16, 2012. That is about 4 years ago when Nigeria was experiencing oil boom as it were. If you are quite observant you willl realise that Fashola, Feyemi, Oshomole and Amaechi of this present government have NEVER blamed Jonathan for not saving. Osinbajo, Lai Mohammed, Buhari, Kemi Adeosun, Oyegun, etc may be apt to use the time tortured line "... we are in recession because PDP under Jonathan did not save". You will never hear that from those three ex-governors and Oshomole.

Please read on...

“GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: ADDRESSING THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE”


HIS EXCELLENCY Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State


“GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: ADDRESSING THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE”
BEING AN ADDRESS AT THE 42ND ANNUAL ACCOUNTANTS’ CONFERENCE OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA ON TUESDAY 16TH OCTOBER, 2012 AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA.

PROTOCOLS

INTRODUCTION
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great pleasure and some relief that I stand before you this afternoon to address you at your 42nd Annual Accountants Conference.

Relief because I do not know how I would have faced all the accountants in the Lagos State Government and my many accountant friends if circumstances had conspired to keep me away again this year after I was regrettably unable to attend last year’s conference.

I am truly honoured and humbled that you extended the invitation once again and I am very glad to be here, especially when I am not a member of the accounting profession.

In fact truth be told, I am always a little nervous in the company of accountants because that is one skill I certainly cannot lay claim to. Thankfully, I have not been asked to analyse any figures here today.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Building Enduring Institutions for National Development” and I have been asked to speak on Governance and Sustainable Development: Addressing the Leadership Challenge”.

Interestingly, a week after I received your invitation, I received a similar one from the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria.

The theme of that conference which was held exactly a week ago was “Nigeria’s Transformation Agenda: Attaining the Millennium Development Goals By 2015” and I was asked to speak on “Challenges of Governance: The Need for Transformational Leadership”.

I was immediately struck by the similarity of themes. Sustainable Development, Governance and Leadership are the common threads that run through the themes of both conferences this year and this is remarkable.

It suggests to me that not only are Nigerian accountants; be they members of ANAN or ICAN or both, similarly apprised of the challenges we face as a nation, both organisations, wittingly or unwittingly have formed a commonality of purpose in dealing with those challenges. This unity can only be to our collective benefit. I therefore say thank you.

This commonality of purpose also made my task easier. I had thought hard about what to say to two sets of accountants so soon after the other until I studied the themes and decided that my message to you both would essentially be the same.

BUILDING ENDURING INSTITUTIONS
In the aftermath of the global economic recession when the economies of the most advanced western nations are just limping out of various economic crises; when the holder of our reserve currency has suffered significant credit risk setbacks and when the 7 (seven) fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa, the eyes of the world are certainly turning towards Africa; including Nigeria, as one of the cubs that has the potential to mature into a real lion of our continent.

Everywhere you turn, the West is looking for ways to conquer new frontiers in Africa and Asia. In a sense, it is reminiscent of the 19th century scramble and partition of Africa, which saw African destinies being determined from as far away as Europe and America.

This time, the outcome will largely be dependent on how ready we are to take our destiny in our hands. And this is why the conference theme is so apt.

At a time when it has now been irrefutably demonstrated that infrastructure is the critical lynch-pin to economic prosperity and with the clear and compelling need to renew Nigeria’s almost 4 (four) decade old and decaying infrastructure built in the hey days of the 1970s oil boom, it is doubtful whether you could have chosen a more appropriate theme for your annual conference because our best response will indeed be to build enduring institutions for national development.

Although I will be stating the obvious, I nonetheless feel that it can never be overstated that without critical infrastructure such as a reliable electricity, affordable housing and a sound efficient transport system predicated on inter and intra-city rail network, strategically connected to air and sea ports to support haulage and transportation of goods and services, Nigeria’s quest and claims to greatness will be a mere vision that hopefully will not escalate to a nightmare.

In Lagos State, we recognise that the only way to develop is to build enduring institutions. This is why the economic thrust of our Government has been one of infrastructure development and renewal to drive economic growth as the critical strategy to poverty alleviation. This in fact is our raison d’être. The reason for our existence.

In other words, we are convinced that the road out of poverty will require us to develop the economy of Lagos and the compass of development directs us towards the renewal of critical infrastructure as the path we must tread.

We have moved a step further and re-focused our energies on the vigorous pursuit of a developmental agenda distilled from our ten-point agenda, that we call PATH; an acronym for the 4 key sectors of Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing.
We firmly believe that investment in these key areas will drive economic growth, provide jobs and propel us on that path to prosperity and poverty eradication.

This is why not less than 60% of our annual budget has been committed to capital expenditure for the last 3 (three) and half years that has literally turned Lagos State into a big construction yard where roads, bridges, rail, jetties, drainages, schools, hospitals, power plants, waterworks and waste water facilities, to name a few are being built.

The result has been a massive creation of jobs, an active value chain of supply, a wider and growing income tax net that continues to support the finances of the State and makes us about 70% self-dependent on our internally generated revenue.

In Lagos State, budgeting is very serious business and I personally chair almost all sessions leading to the planning and delivery of every budget.

Even if I do not always agree with my much respected Hon. Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget, Mr. Ben Akabueze and his solid team, I have learnt to act on his sensible advice on almost all matters that relate to economic planning and budget.

We hold quarterly budget review meetings to monitor our budget performance and implementation and this is why since 2007 we have achieved a consistent minimum of 70% budget performance and implementation to date.

We are not given to self-adulation but we are probably the only State in Nigeria that will survive if oil revenues suddenly fall to dangerous levels.

The message therefore is that any talk of reform or infrastructural renewal will amount to vision without action unless there is budgetary discipline and implementation.

I use those examples only to demonstrate what we must replicate nationally if we are to indeed grow into a lion of Africa; what we must do and how seriously we must take the budgetary provisions contained in every annual appropriation law that the legislature passes both at the State and the Federal level.

And to take us to heart of the matter I have a few questions.

Can we truly develop infrastructure and build enduring institutions with a budget that has over 70% recurrent item and barely 30% capital provision in the face of our clearly deficient infrastructure?

Are we simply going to miss another momentous opportunity for greatness at such an opportune time in world politics?

[size=15pt]Can we transform without the rule and the fragrant abuses of the Constitution especially Section 162 that deals with the management of the Federation Account?[/size]

Can there be proper accounting and transparency in the management of this all important Federation Account which belongs to the Federation Government, 36 State Governments and all the Local Government, if the accounting lines of the Accountant of the Federal Government remain blurred because he purports to act as the Accountant-General of the entire Federation instead of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government?
[size=15pt]On what lawful basis does the Federal Government maintain an “Excess Crude Account” that is not known to the Constitution or supported by any law if we are truly operating a constitutional democracy?

Can National Assembly without question pass an executive sponsored bill to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund to be financed from the Federation Account when the Constitution does not support it?[/size]

Ladies and gentlemen, these factual and legal anomalies raise profound issues about compliance with the rule of law in our democracy and without any doubt, stand at the gateway to inhibit our march towards building enduring institutions and consequently, our progress towards prosperity.

If anybody is in any doubt, one only needs to look at the risk management issues to understand why many projects are either uncompleted or suffering from financing failure and budgetary non-performance.

In a federation where the Federal Government is entitled to 52% of the revenues under the existing revenue allocation formula, it is easy to extrapolate and understand that every budgetary failure or non-performance approximate to about 52% failure or non-performance in the national economy.

Is it therefore any wonder that our infrastructure is not renewing quickly enough or that our economy is witnessing macro growth without micro impact by way of jobs and prosperity?

So many questions. But more of them for you and this is the crux of my message to you today.

Is ICAN unaware of these accounting anomalies or are you agonizing about them without proffering solutions to remedy them?

Are you unthinkably maintaining a conspiratorial silence or are you reluctant to speak the truth to authority?

How can ICAN continue to maintain its revered and critical role in national development when the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) defiantly violates the Constitution by failing to remit all petroleum income to the Federation Account, and organisations like yours stand by and say or do nothing?

What, for instance, is ICAN doing about the state of the economy?
Are you sitting around twiddling your toes when year on year Nigeria is recording such poor performance levels of the budget, or are you doing something about it as a body?
For many laymen, the image of the auditor is the most graphic image of an accountant that they have, much in the same way that people see only those who dress up and go to court as lawyers. But how seriously are you taking your auditing role where government is concerned?
As a body, are you questioning and examining government fiscal policies?
Was your input sought for the 2013 budget proposal? Was it offered? Will you continue to leave issues of national development to Labour Unions like PENGASSAN and NUPENG, who react only to oil industry issues and wages?
The cashless policy, the introduction of the N5000 note - are you speaking as a body to these and other fundamental issues with the potential for far reaching effects on our economy?

I believe the time for self-examination about your role in building enduring institutions for national development is now. The challenge of leadership that can engender sustainable development and transparency in governance can be met and overcome when organisations like yours, take their role much more seriously.
This is the essence of representative democracy. We have moved from a nascent to a participatory democracy, in which individuals and corporate citizens alike play a much more active role in governance.
This is also part of the enduring institutions we must build in order to prosper as a nation and ICAN ought to see itself as a Special Interest Group with a key role to play in our democracy and our development.
You have the clout to invite key government personnel, at all levels, be it federal, state or local government, to explain their policies; to explain what they are doing and why. And you must use that clout.
This is a wake-up call for you to play a more proactive role. The passage of the Freedom of Information Act has made it easier for you to perform the civic duty of the watchdog of our fiscal policies and practices on behalf of the people.
I daresay we will not get the best out of our representatives unless you engage as a body and provide solutions to the problems that arise.
This is a role that the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, to name but two, are performing creditable in Lagos State. They engage with me from time to time and this keeps us on our toes.
In this regard also, the global financial crisis has helped. It has altered the environments in which governments operate and made them much more open.
In addition, the explosion of new information and communication technologies, including social media has encouraged the rapid, global diffusion of ideas and practices that has stimulated citizens into demanding higher standards of governance, transparency and accountability in the public sector.
Nigeria has not been left out of this revolution. But clearly there is a compelling need to foster a national commitment to fiscal discipline so that we can begin to build sustainable and enduring institutions.

To do this we must challenge our leaders and institutions like ICAN must be in the vanguard of that move.

CONCLUSION
I acknowledge that I have probably asked more questions than provided answers. But I do hope that these questions will provoke in us a desire to entrench constitutional democracy anchored on the rule of law.

A desire championed by ICAN, to establish transparent fiscal policies and disciplined practices that will serve as the guide to bridge our infrastructural deficit, and bring us closer to building enduring institutions for national development.

Ladies and Gentlemen, a desire championed by you.

I thank you all for your attention.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State

October 16, 2012.

holysina:
If your having a monthly income of 20k and you have have 6 family member that you agreed to give 2k each month while you use the remaining 8k for the family welfare, and one day your income increases to 40k, then you say to your family let me start giving giving you guys 2.5k so we can save what ever is left from the excess in case our earning drops tomorrow we can have a back up and your family say no you don't ha e that right to save for them that you must give them everything. Are you then telling me now that you will save yours for them while they finish theirs. Bros a house divided against itself can never stand. If you no want make we save together, then don't blame me for not saving mine when the doomsday come because we go suffer am together. I believe the work of the opposition is to offer solutions and call the government to other in the aspect they are failing, but APC started a bad form of opposition which is oppose anything and everything, now the ball is in their court and they complain like the world is about to end

obailala:
Several points to note in your story. Firstly, the battle to share ECA funds started as far back as 2004 when the account was first opened by OBJ/NOI. At the time, the governors pressuring the FG of OBJ were mainly under the same PDP's happy umbrella; so your accusation of the 'opposition' holds no water on this issue.

Secondly, from your bolded statement above, did you just assert that the FG swallowed its own share of the money because the states did the same?... Does this act in any way portray a government that had any iota of political will to save?

If you are a Christian, you should know the story of the prodigal son. Just imagine the father of the prodigal son saying, "since my bad son has taken his share of the family wealth and has proceeded to squander it on wine, women and wild living, I the father would also squander the bulk that is left with me." Does this in any way resemble sound judgement?
W

jpphilips:
People like you are resourceful but unintelligent, every Governor under Obj wanted that money to be shared because it had no constitutional framework, did Obj share it? is the right question.
The Governors under OBJ went to court for the ECA to be liquidated, it took a man with deep knowledge and political will to know that the money was kept for the greater good, the more you circulate rubbish like these, the more people see the weakness and incompetence in Jonathan.
The person who asked for money is never the problem, it is the f00l who gave it to them without circumspection of its consequence

obailala:
Are you aware the governors also took OBJ and Yaradua to court for the same reason?

Meanwhile, states took away about 49% of the funds, which rightfully belongs to states and LGAs; may I also remind you that the reason the voices of the state governors were raised higher was because even whilst the FG was still resisting the call to release the funds, the FG was already illegally dipping its hands into the funds.. But that is by the way, the simple question i asked is, if the FG was serious about saving, why couldn't it save the over 51% lion share which it had?... Did governors also hypnotise the FG from saving that bulk of the money?...

And besides, we aren't just talking of ECA funds are we?... ECA is just a little drop of it?.. How come Nigeria's overall reserves rose continuously under other admins, but dropped under the admin which earned the most?... Saying the governors prevented the FG from saving, don't you think that is just a lazy excuse by those in authority?

Validated:
I would not have honoured with a reply because I am not given to replying incoherent and empty assumptions. I deal with facts. However, because you are so myopic just like the governors were, I will honour you with this reply.

First, on that same gathering of ICAN conference, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi was one of the paper reveiwers, alongside other now APC ministers. The then Minister of Finance was represented for a better part by the then Accountant General - Mr Itula or so. The reveiwers berated the AG so much of the time before Okonjo-Iweala joined the session, to put the governors where they belonged. We (ICAN members) viewed the altercation as that of Governor's Forum versus the Executive; but with hindsight and the realignment of politicians, one could see that it was a deliberate action by an "opposition" bent on squandering all that was in the Federal Government earned. I could remembered vividly a statement from Amaechi on that day. Of course we laughed over it but it was a serious satement. He said that we (their government) must spend what we earned, let the future generation create their own wealth and spend it also. That was the mindset of those governors.

Now to help you understand how deep this was, I will refer you to Vanguard of May 22, 2012 with title [size=15pt]"Sovereign Wealth Fund: Govs ask S-Court to abort FG’s plan to withdraw $2bn"[/size] The governors opposed the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) because of selfishness and political differences. Today, you come and blame those who had a noble intention to save for the future and also saw the opportunity to save for rainy days, yet you praise those who opposed such plan. That to me is HYPOCRISY and it has remained the bane of Nigeria progress.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/sovereign-wealth-fund-govs-ask-s-court-to-abort-fgs-plan-to-withdraw-2bn/http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/sovereign-wealth-fund-govs-ask-s-court-to-abort-fgs-plan-to-withdraw-2bn/

The NGF had every right to look out for the fiscal entitlement of the states governed by its members. They had every right to stop the president from making illegal deductions, if indeed the deductions were illegal. The court of law should rule on such where an understanding could not be reached.
https://andybriggsreport.me/2011/11/23/swf-face-off/

President Umaru Yar’Adua is said to be seeking a truce with seven governors who instituted a suit at the Supreme Court to illegalise the Excess Crude Account.

The Nation learnt yesterday that the President would want an out-of-court settlement. There were indications that he may meet with the seven governors on Friday to broker peace.

http://www.thenigeriabusiness.com/eco151.html

The Court Case against the FG.

In the suit filed by the state governments on October 24, 2011 the states are seeking an order restraining the Federal Government from making any withdrawal whatsoever from the account styled ‘Excess Crude Account’ (or any account replacing same by any name howsoever) pending the determination of a subsisting suit initiated by them in 2008. They are also praying the court to order that all sums standing to the credit of the said Excess Crude Account be paid into court or be otherwise secured as the court may deem fit pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit. (The Nation. Oct. 30 2011)

coolscott:
[size=13pt]Whereas I have not verified that Obj and Yar' Adua were also sued for the same reason...

1). The issue is that the past federal govt was taken to court in a fight to ensure the funds were not saved.

2). What matters is that in their last outing in court the governors won, the result of a hard fought investment in money, time and emotion to ensure that we use up rather than save. The fed govt had to follow/respect the rule of law (by not disobeying the court's decision).

3). Now from where did the people who initiated (and successfully executed) the battle to ensure we use up rather than save, find the moral legs upon which to stand and say it was the fed govt's fault that we did not save? The same fed govt they had to take to court to force to NOT SAVE but rather give the money to them.[/size]

obailala:
Several points to note in your story. Firstly, the battle to share ECA funds started as far back as 2004 when the account was first opened by OBJ/NOI. At the time, the governors pressuring the FG of OBJ were mainly under the same PDP's happy umbrella; so your accusation of the 'opposition' holds no water on this issue.

Secondly, from your bolded statement above, did you just assert that the FG swallowed its own share of the money because the states did the same?... Does this act in any way portray a government that had any iota of political will to save?

If you are a Christian, you should know the story of the prodigal son. Just imagine the father of the prodigal son saying, "since my bad son has taken his share of the family wealth and has proceeded to squander it on wine, women and wild living, I the father would also squander the bulk that is left with me." Does this in any way resemble sound judgement?

obailala:
I don't remember the court case ever ending, it was an out of court settlement.

Secondly, no one seems to have answered a question I asked earlier, if the FG really had any intentions to save, how come the FG couldn't save its own share which was quite substantial (over 50% of the total)?

FG takes care of national issues while states take care of state issues. There's a reason why the FG receives a bulk of those funds, and part of that reason is cos it's the FG's responsibility to take care of certain national issues bordering on the economy. Today the economy is in shambles and it is Buhari we all knows; no one mentions the governors of respective states. So claiming that state governors took their money away from the FG's central purse is quite an empty excuse for not saving when it should have.

obailala:
If governors asked for their entitlement of the ECA funds (which the FG was already pilfering from by the way), why could the FG not save its lion share (over 50%) of the ECA funds if it really had any intentions to save?

Nobody seems to be able to answer this question, most people just seem to dwell on the pointless blame game claiming "governors made the FG not to save"

beejaay:
are you saying it was right for obj to disobey the court and gej was wrong for obeying the court? if your answer is yes then truely nigerians deserve every leaders we get

beejaay:
tell us one good reason why federal government should save when every state have collected and spent theirs today its the states that is shouting and suffering most while and no one like you is criticizing or asking them of the money the shared.....atleast fg spent little on roads and others even though they looted most, tell us what the states used theirs for

BigIyanga:
FG did that's why they're bailing out states. Why didn't most states governors did? Why are states owing workers 6-12months when in fact they had collected allocations from FG?
Why are states like Anambra and Lagos paying workers without bailout?

obailala:
Money used to bail out states wasn't saved intentionally. The money wasn't in the hands of the FG as it was yet to be paid. States are owing several months of salaries because their administrators were not insightful/financially prudent enough to prepare for the rainy day. But for some states to be imprudent, is that a justification for the FG to also be imprudent?

BigIyanga:
If FG hadn't saved they would not have had any funds to bailout the states. My mind you the sharing formular is that FG get 52% while States get 48%, so states got their fair share and blew it and the went back to FG to ask for help. So those bailout funds are coming from FG's share

obailala:
I don't remember the court case ever ending, it was an out of court settlement.

Secondly, no one seems to have answered a question I asked earlier, if the FG really had any intentions to save, how come the FG couldn't save its own share which was quite substantial (over 50% of the total)?

FG takes care of national issues while states take care of state issues. There's a reason why the FG receives a bulk of those funds, and part of that reason is cos it's the FG's responsibility to take care of certain national issues bordering on the economy. Today the economy is in shambles and it is Buhari we all knows; no one mentions the governors of respective states. So claiming that state governors took their money away from the FG's central purse is quite an empty excuse for not saving when it should have.

obailala:
i don't remember OBJ disobeying the courts, he fought back and resisted and the case never ended till he left office.

Are you saying the FG should be irresponsible because some state governors are?

beejaay:
How did obj fight?? Is it tampering with the will of the judiciary Am sure you are aware that the case got to the supreme court during gej tenure and am sure u were aware of the media war in support of the governors? Be sincere were u with gej or the governors during the time

Am not saying fg should be irresponsible, on the contrary am against irresponsible people. My only concern was the cloak of hypocrisy that surrounds the whole thing when the governors were shielded and none seems to be calling them out, to the extent that those governors that were part of the rot are today shouting gej was the cause and people like you looking the other way..

coolscott:
[size=13pt]No. People are saying that the former APC governors pointing fingers at the past administration for not saving have no right to do so since they fought to ensure that we do not save.

As per your question (and please don't get offended about this) people consider it rather (again don't get offended) foolish.

That being said, the former APC governors pointing fingers at the past administration for not saving have no right to do so since they fought to ensure that we do not save.

As far as passing the buck to Buhari for the current state of the economy, of course the buck stops on his table whatever the case.

When GEJ was complaining about being too criticized, of course we could not support him on that one because the buck stopped with him as the leader.

So for Buhari to not feel responsible for the economy sliding (under his watch) is super childish.

Especially as at least basic things that should be done and should have been done seem beyond the realization of the president and/or his team.

Now whether one loves Buhari or not, the obviousness of basic things that need to be done, and the obviousness of the absence of almost all of these basic things has been one of the sad, surprising, embarassing, shocking, etc things about this govt.

That is why some people don't even bother commenting/complaining anymore. They have come to the resolute conclusion that this government will fail and don't consider it worth their energy or their time.[/size]

obailala:
So can you please explain what is foolish about my question?.. It is not enough to just say it is foolish without a reason because that would only expose you as being empty. I ask again, if GEJ had any political will or intent whatsoever to save, how come his govt couldn't save the over 50% bulk portion of the funds which the FG received?

Also just as the APC governors who collected ECA funds have no right to accuse GEJ's FG of not saving, that's the same way the PDP governors accusing Buhari of not miraculously printing forex also do not have any right to do that.

The responsibility of steering Nigeria out of the current economic quagmire no doubts rests on Buhari's head, but it is silly for those who immensely contributed to the mess to open their mouths to spew trash against buhari; recession doesn't start in a day, it builds up, and it is shallow for anyone to attribute the current 'depression' to Buhari alone when it was clear that the centre wasn't holding anymore and the economy was already on an accelerated nosedive as at the time the baton was handed over to him.

In my sincere opinion, the only real things Buhari has done wrong border on his poor handling of social issues; IPOb, NDA, herdsmen, nepotism etc.

coolscott:
[size=13pt]I don't know where you got the idea that the solution to our recession is the printing of forex.
I also do not know where you got the idea that that is what he is being faulted for not doing.
I have deliberately not said what the apparent solutions are here because it is so apparent it is surprising we are not moving in that direction.

With regards to your question being considered foolish, it is just how I speculate it is being considered.
This is because the question tends to suggest that a laudable response to identified errors in one place should be the replication of equal and similar errors in other places.

In responding to the revelation that the governors fought in court to ensure we spent rather saved, in attempting to provide exoneration, you say "...why didn't GEJ save his own part?"

Do you see how that sounds?
[/size]
That is why I suspect no one touched it - because it indeed sounds foolish.