BREAKING NEWS, Business
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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says if all the three tiers of government collaborate and utilize the resources available to them for development, Nigeria would be an Eldorado for the people
| By Maureen Chigbo | Jun. 16, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
HONESTY is not what some Nigerians associate with officials of government when they are speaking at public functions. More often than not, many people believe that government officials are playing to the gallery when the reel out figures about their achievements while in office. But this is far from the picture Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of finance and co-ordinating minister of the economy cut, when she delivered a convocation address at the Babcock University,Ilishan-Remu, Ogun State, Nigeria, on Sunday, June 1. Even though she treaded the familiar path of reeling out the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan, she was unequivocal when she admitted clearly that the federal government cannot do it alone in transforming Nigeria. In an address entitled: “Transforming the Nigerian Economy: Opportunities and Challenges,” the minister stepped up the ante when she asked pertinent questions to drum home the fact that the federal government needed everybody on board including the states and the local governments, to turn around the country for the better.
She also hit the bull’s eye by providing comparative statistics on the budgetary figures of some state governments to draw a graphic parallel between them and some African countries with similar budgets which have more to show for development projects in their respective countries.
The relevant part of the address which dwelt on the role of sub-national government in Nigeria’s transformation, has drawn vituperations from some state governments with some government officials castigating the minister for drawing Nigerians’ attention to how much they get from Federal Allocation Accounts Committee, FAAC. Suffice it to state that Okonjo-Iweala’s quest, which is in the right direction’ was on “What Should Be the Role of Our State and Local Governments in Supporting Our Transformation?” According to her, “We know from the Constitution, that the provision of many public services (such as, health, education, agricultural services) falls on a “concurrent list” – and so are the joint responsibilities of the federal, states and local governments. However, it appears most responsibilities – from immunisation to supply of agricultural inputs – have now been pushed in the public perception mostly onto the federal government!”
Okonjo-Iweala went on to ask: “Do states have the resources to deliver these services? And why do some states happen to do more and better than others? How can we hold our states and local governments more to account, just as we hold the federal government to account? The minister said: “In terms of the resources, I can confidently say that based on available data that our states are reasonably well-resourced. But of course, I know all of them would want more revenue as we all do even at the federal level. About half of our total government expenditures occur at the sub-national level; and if you look at allocations to states and local governments, there are some interesting trends.”
She went on to say that “in 2013, the top 10 allocations went to Akwa Ibom (N260b or $1.7b), Rivers (N230b or $1.5b), Delta (N209b or $1.3b), Bayelsa (N173b or $1.1b), Lagos (N168b or $1.1b), Kano (N140b or $0.9b), Katsina (N103b or $0.7b), Oyo (N100b or $0.6b), Kaduna (N97b or $0.6b), and Borno (N94b or $0.6b).” However, she said, all the data did not include internally generated revenues, IGR, of these states, which are significant in some instances such as Lagos State, and very commendable.
Her analysis of the figures showed that many Nigerian states receive revenue allocations which are larger than the budgets of neighbouring countries such as: Liberia ($433 million), or The Gambia ($210 million) or Benin Republic ($1.47 billion). The top two recipients of state allocations –Akwa Ibom and Rivers – receive $3.1 billion, which is about half of the entire budget of Ghana (about $6.4 billion).”On a per capita basis, that is, revenues/population, the top three recipients of FAAC allocations are: Bayelsa (N84,500 or $545), Akwa Ibom (N55,600 or $360) and Delta States (N42,000 or $270). On the per capita basis, many Nigerian states receive more than neighbouring countries such as: Ghana ($255), Benin Republic ($146), Liberia ($103), and Gambia ($117).” Okonjo-Iweala noted that “one of the commissioners from Borno State recently said that poverty is part of the equation for the problems with Boko Haram – and I agree. Extremist ideology can sometimes spread quickly when poverty is a problem. However, the issue I have is that the commissioner spoke about the poverty problem almost like something disconnected from the responsibilities of the state government. He did not mention what the state government is doing to tackle the problem. So the question I have is: What has the Borno State Government been doing with its revenue allocations and IGR all these years? It receives the 10th largest allocation in the country (N94b or $600m). This is about 50 percent more than the entire budget of Liberia ($433m) which has a comparable population! [The other North Eastern States under emergency rule also receive sizable allocations: Yobe ($440m) and Adamawa ($487m)].”
From Okonjo-Iweala’s point of view, some states within their resources appear to have handled some issues relatively well, citing Anambra State which, she said, improved its educational outcomes after the handover of schools to missionary groups and at a cheaper cost. Gombe State has also improved its school enrolment rates. In Kano State, the federal and state governments have worked with various development partners to improve school enrollment for girls. Public infrastructure has improved in a number of states, for example: in Jigawa, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Edo States, to name a few.
Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged the positive things the state governments have done. For instance, Lagos State has greatly improved its environment and sanitation in recent years, and is now a pleasant place to visit. And in Cross River, the state government has maintained its good environmental standards. In Abia, the state government has also commenced an urban renewal program in Umuahia which would gradually lead to a cleaner city. And in Ondo and Ekiti States, health service delivery has improved. Bauchi State has done well by absorbing millions of displaced people fleeing the insurgency in the North East within its present resources.
“I am convinced that if the states and the federal governments were to work more closely and collaboratively, and be jointly accountable, the country could do much better in the provision of basic public services such as health care, education, water, sanitation, and so on. Our transformation will not be complete until we are able to improve on the delivery of public services by our states and local governments,” she said. However, she stressed that “the biggest challenge we face to transforming Nigeria today is how to build a social compact among all Nigerians- a compact in which we all agree on some standard norms of behavior within our local communities, our places of work, our civil society groups, and ultimately, in our nation.”
Needless to state that Okonjo-Iweala spoke some home truths to the state governments backed with facts. So far, no-one has contradicted the figures she presented. One can only hope that none of the three tiers of government should play the ostrich with their noses buried on the ground but should collaborate more to turn Nigeria into an Eldorado. With the level of resources both human and material, nothing less can be expected from them.
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