•Lament VAT, stamp duty administration, politics around Paris Club refund
•Skewed federal system has eroded states’ identities – Akeredolu
By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah
Governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) have raised fhe alarm that the spate of insecurity ,political and economic uncertainties in the country may lead to heavy financial losses and grounding of government business.
Ekiti State governor and chairman of NGF, Dr Kayode Fayemi, gave the warning yesterday at the maiden meeting of the 36 states attorneys general of the federation with the NGF.
To avert this, he said, the states have placed the Office of the Attorney General on red alert towards ensuring that the states are not ambushed through frivolous court cases/orders.
Fayemi who was represented by the Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, said, “The spate of insecurity across many states, and political and economic uncertainties in the country and the states have placed the office of the attorney-general on red alert in ensuring that the state is not ambushed through frivolous cases/court orders that may lead to heavy financial losses and grounding of government business. We do not doubt that this meeting would afford you the opportunity to seek solutions.”
He also stated that governors are in support of autonomy for the judiciary and the legislature but that they had always wanted to control its application.
“You are all aware of the controversy occasioned by the question of the autonomy of the Judiciary and Legislature. The Forum has often been in support of autonomy, but we felt that the onus was on the states to determine and implement it. It is therefore expedient that as chief law officers, you exercise the right to review and monitor the extent of implementation in your states,” he told fellow governors.
Also, he said the Forum through its Peace and Inclusive Security Initiative (PISI) had commenced discussions with stakeholders on diverse ways to handle some of these security challenges and restore peace to communities.
“There are many burning issues before you today, ranging from the administration of our criminal justice system, stamp duties, Value Added Tax, the fallout from the London Paris Club Refunds culminating in the criminal bid to deprive states of $419 million,” he added.
Presidential System Of Government Dictatorial – Agabi
Meanwhile, former minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation, Kanu Agabi, has described the presidential system of government as dictatorial.
He stated this yesterday at the meeting of the 36 states’ attorneys general of the federation organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in Abuja.
He said, “It is a dictatorship with a purpose, used to wield the nation together. In the presidential system of government, unity is not optional because all powers are vested in one man.
“There is a culture of dictatorship today; there are a lot of tendencies to divide the nation and not unite. We must unite across all regions because nothing will be gained by dividing the nation.
“We must unite to solve the problems confronting us; we can’t solve them by dividing ourselves. We need a national integration commission that can unite us so that someone from Plateau can work in Lagos. We must allow a situation where competent Nigerians can serve in another state. The borders of the country must be open because these are the things that are militating against our nation.”
The former AGF also attributed the rising insecurity to the lack of domestication of laws.
According to him, “The constitution may not be good but it is ours. We must repair and manage it until we can replace it. The states were created by the military. Can we reject them? We can’t. A nation cannot have a constitution that is valid for all generations; every generation amends it to suit their needs.
“Second, we must modify the laws to suit local circumstances. The laws that govern our affairs are foreign, the system of government adopted is foreign but we must adapt the law or else we will continue to have the problem of insecurity, lack of respect for the constitution, the rule of law.”
He further explained that the machinery of law enforcement was weak.
According to him, the military weakened the judiciary and the security agencies and it will take time to repair the damage.
“Why we talk of state police is because the problem of insecurity has become huge. The police, like the judiciary, is a limitless institution. Even if we increase the number of policemen, the problem will not abate until we correct ourselves. A divided nation will be insecure,” he added.
On corruption, Agabi said, “We must not give up on the issue of corruption. We must admit we have a problem with corruption. When we steal, bring home proceeds of corruption, we are feeding them with poison.”
Contending that the states are weak, small and easily pocketable, he said where one man dominates, people can always be manipulated.
Agabi lamented that elections are neither free nor fair, saying, “The day this country will have free and fair elections, our problem will be solved. We are still in a dictatorship, this time a dictatorship of individuals, one who can rig himself to power. We don’t have opposition; the National Assembly operates as an extension of the executive. We must have opposition.
He further stated that the dominance of one political party weakens the country’s federalism.
“The dominant role played by money; the government is run on a level of patronage. It is not pleasant to talk about these things.”
Agabi called on state attorneys-general to carry out their duties without fear, just as he urged governors to allow their justice commissioners to advise them.
“If your attorney-general lies to you, he is administering poison to you. If he advises you, you must listen and act because a time of accountability is coming. Governors that are violating the laws will create a problem of insecurity, like it is happening now.
“Many of us in this country are progressing on the false assumption that all will be well in our time but that is not happening. It is not correct to say the attorneys-general are independent and responsible to the people and not the governor.
“I urge the attorney general to educate themselves because if you don’t know the law, you cannot advise your governors. You are not politicians, you may have been taken from the political pool but the moment you are appointed, you belong to the people.
“The attorney-general may not be able to give justice, but must be able to give consolation,” he started.
Credit | Leadership