President Muhammadu Buhari said state governors are stealing from local government councils federal allocations.
Buhari, who spoke after his speech at the presidential parley for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) at the State House on Thursday.
The president noted that personal integrity is fundamental in the operations of government.
He recalled an instance of how a state governor would receive allocation on behalf of council areas in his state only to remit half of such allocation to the council chairmen.
These actions, according to Buhari, portrayed the sort of corrupt practices that is now symptomatic of Nigeria in dispensing resources meant for local council administrations, thereby undermining development.
He congratulated the members of the Senior Executive Course 44 on the successful completion of their course.
Buhari challenged them to revitalise and reinvigorate leadership at the various levels of establishments.
He said it’s unfathomable that some state governors would collect money on behalf of council areas, and only remit half of such allotment to the council chairpersons, Hotmedia.ng gathered.
“If the monies from the federal government to state governments is N100 million, let’s put it at N100 million — N50 million will be sent to the chairman with a letter that he will sign that he received N100 million,” he said.
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“The governor will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wanted to and then the chairman of the local government will say how much he must pay as salaries. To hell goes development. Monies for the salaries will be given and the balance he will put in his pocket.
“This is what is happening in Nigeria, it’s a terrible thing. You cannot say the person who is doing these was not educated, he was a qualified lawyer, he was experienced, yet he participated in this type of corruption.”
Buhari attributed such behaviours to a lack of integrity, noting that it contributes to the pervasive corruption in the country.
“So it’s a matter of conscience, whichever level we find ourselves. As a leader, you sit here with all the sacrifices the country is making by putting you through institutions and getting you ready to lead,” he added.
“The fundamental thing is personal integrity. May God help us.”
