In Akwa Ibom, the wastages continue

ON Wednesday September 23, the Akwa Ibom State government rolled out the drums to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the creation of the state in a very lavish and ostentatious event that defied logic and common sense and ran contrary to the mood of the nation. It cost an amount far more than what many state governments receive in a month.

Akwa Ibom people are shocked that Governor Udom Emmanuel is continuing in the wastefulness of the Godswill Akpabio era. Oil price is going southwards every day, hovering around $40 per barrel as at today in late September. Analysts have confirmed that the trend will continue several months or years down the road, and the CBN has even warned that the Nigerian economy will go into a recession next year. Akwa Ibom is among the heavily indebted states in the federation, owing over N500 billion to both the banks and contractors.

The mood in the nation now is that of sobriety, level headedness and maturity. Many state governments cannot meet their basic obligations to their workers, families are in dire straits and poverty is both endemic and pervasive. The economy is contracting steadily and insecurity is not abating. To stay afloat, states like Kaduna are cutting down on wastages by discontinuing wasteful pastimes like sponsorship of people on pilgrimage. If Udom Emmnuel could restructure our debts so that our grand children will pay, why does he have the conscience to blow away a whooping N3.7 billion on anniversary celebration?

Recently, Governor Udom, taking advantage of President Buhari’s bailout programme, has restructured the commercial bank debts into federal government bonds just because we could not service them. This means that the repayment of these debts, incurred through the profligacy of the Akpabio administration, is now the responsibility of our grand children. The relief has drastically reduced the state’s debt repayment burden from over N3 billion to less than N400 million a month; thus offering Udom Emmanuel a false sense of liquidity.

Equally pathetic is that despite its unparalleled oil wealth that rolled in for about decade, Akwa Ibom does not have a single kobo in any form of savings against the rainy day. And the rains are here! Rather, we are so neck deep in debt that we have shamelessly and irresponsibly shifted the responsibility for repayment to the future generation.

The mood in the nation now is that of sobriety, level headedness and maturity. Many state governments cannot meet their basic obligations to their workers, families are in dire straits and poverty is both endemic and pervasive. The economy is contracting steadily and insecurity is not abating. To stay afloat, states like Kaduna are cutting down on wastages by discontinuing wasteful pastimes like sponsorship of people on pilgrimage. If Udom Emmnuel could restructure our debts so that our grand children will pay, why does he have the conscience to blow away a whooping N3.7 billion on anniversary celebration? The bulk of the money went into media campaign that lasted for weeks, including billboards, press, radio and TV advertising, production of branded T-shirts, artistes and entertainers’ fees, travels, hotels and accommodations to guests, pastors, former governors, foods & drinks, mobilization of women form LGAs, live TV coverage, decorations, etc.

Katsina State, which was created on the same day with Akwa Ibom, acknowledges the mood of the nation, and is not even celebrating. The federal government spent only N70m to celebrate the nation’s 55th anniversary. Reports say that President Buhari reluctantly gave approval to this relatively meagre sum. So why is Udom blowing away huge money so effortlessly in these very hard times when prudence, cost cutting and austerity should be the watchwords in public finance management?

Just imagine a tenant who cannot pay his rent; goes to beg his landlord for more time, but returns to his apartment to hold a big owambe party. How callous will he appear to his cotenants and children? Across the nation, we are now a laughing stock as a people who have no respect for public resources. Officials of the DMO (Debt Management Office) should regret that they had recently approved the debt restructure for the Akwa Ibom State government, despite warnings from the state chapter of the APC.

Under Akpabio, the government behaved as if it had no regard for money. There were wastes upon wastes, with no single savings out of the N3 trillion it earned for the eight years. Instead, we have a litany of abandoned projects. But now, we have Udom Emmnauel, a banker touted as a financial wizard and presented by his supporters as the one who knows how to manage public finance, yet the indications are that he isn’t any better.

Usually, governors take a cue from the behaviour of the federal government. Under President Jonathan, governors struggled to beat each other in impunity. With the arrival of Buhari, many self-respecting state chief executives do know that a new sheriff is in town, and so they are sensitive to costs, governance and good conduct. The president has set a good example by discontinuing the sponsorship of pilgrims to Mecca and Jerusalem. He travels with far smaller delegations and has reigned in on spousal flamboyance, among other cost-cutting measures. Many other states like Kaduna, Abia and Lagos are also driving costs down. Gone are the days of the excesses. But for Akwa Ibom, the revelry continues.

• Etim is a banker and journalist