Feedback on ‘Budget padding as accounting terrorism’

Monday Column By Hameed M. Bello, PhD

hamdbelo@yahoo.co.uk

The following feedback was received as reaction to the Monday column published on this page on October 10, 2022.

Hameed and his  ‘Accounting Terrorists’ !!! The ICPC  guy has been doing a yeo man’s job in unraveling corrupt practices in public expenditure and deserves kudos. But the whole appropriation process is a racket. And those who fleece the nation get away with it because virtually all those involved in the process are part of the scam. One hopes that with these disclosures, someone not materially enslaved may salvage the situation by sending the Accounting Terrorists to jail. That is our HOPE. Regards.            

– Dr Bisi Olawunmi, Osun

They are accounting terrorists indeed. Quite detailed as usual. Enough blames to go round. Except you did not call to order the government agency responsible for policing this, the due process office that should catch such paddings. And what is the exact law being breached by padding, and the punishment for breaching that law? The entire budgeting process need overhaul. What are PEPs? You explained everything except that.  

– Olu Jacobs, Minna. 

This issue couldn’t have come up at a better time. So timely! Hope the assembly will be more restrained this time around!  God bless for this piece.

 -Alhaji Yahaya Ali, Abuja. 

Thank  you Doc, for sharing this thought provoking piece with me. I have been thinking budget padding is the in- thing. Don’t mind even the ICPC. I can tell you for sure that if you are allowed  access to their books, you might see something more than padding. Of course, budget padding is wrong, and it is becoming prevalent for some reasons. One being the  weak nature of our  institutions which  has  made it difficult to spot the phenomenon. Greed is second. Until the system is made to check this out and perhaps devise a stringent punishment for whoever is  involved, this may not go away easily. What about the Presidency?. Well, they have to show clear example of transparency here too. Thanks, once again.

-Dr Habeeb Yaqoob, UniAbuja

I like the term “accounting terrorists” because it aptly describes what pains these rogues are inflicting on our commonwealth every budget cycle. I can bet you that even the  2023 proposals submitted to the National Assembly penultimate Friday will not be spared. It has become a culture and unless people are named,  shamed and jailed for this crime, it will never end. Lest, we forget, we’ve been entrusting our commonwealth with accounting terrorists and  other characters with itchy fingers. Where is Ahmed Idris, the suspended  Accountant General of the Federation? What has the government done about recovering the N109billon allegedly stolen by him?

-Onwuka Nzeshi, Abuja. 

The issues are too many; too many that you don’t even know how to prioritize them. Many thanks, editor.

-Attah Pine, Makurdi

Padding is a major problem in our budgeting system but I think there’s “legal” and “illegal” padding? Because the legislature is constitutionally empowered to tinker with the budget and if it does that, it’s legal. But when some lawmakers or head of MDAs surreptitiously insert items or allocate funds to some phony projects, it amounts to illegal padding.

-Philip Nyam, Abuja. 

Feedback on Monday column titled ‘Broken fences Atiku must mend published on September 26, 2022’

You may be right to say that candidate Atiku holds the ace in resolving this unhealthy impasse.  But I think he has not been firm on his decisions and that’s why this problem persists. One, we  are told, immediately after the convention, Atiku went to assure Wike that he would be his running mate. But when some other stakeholders impressed on him to drop Wike, he instead set up a committee to nominate a running mate for him, and we are told the committee overwhelmingly recommended Wike. I think before he picked Okowa, he ought to have met Wike and explain to him the circumstances that made him change his mind- he didn’t do that, as far as we know. 

Secondly, Wike was to have said when they met in London recently, that Atiku believably promised that when he returns to the country, he will facilitate  Ayu’s resignation within a week. He again couldn’t fulfill the promise. So, why renege on the promise and resort to citing the party’s constitution, saying the decision to throw in the towel was personal to Ayu? There are so many ‘why’s’ in the way the post primary crisis in PDP has been handled. But like you stated, the ball is in Atiku’s court – to ignore Wike and damn the consequences or sacrifice Ayu to assuage the Wike camp. However,  it seems both camps have reached a point of no return and none of them will bulge. Whatever route both camps decide to tow, February 25 will tell who’s real man. And just to correct that it was Ayu who hailed Tambuwal as ‘hero’ of the convention and not Atiku. Overall, it’s a good piece.

-Philip Nyam, Abuja.