A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Policy Alert, has called on state governments in the Niger Delta to publish how they spent the first tranche of London and Paris Clubs loan refund.
The call came on the heels of a presidential approval last week for the release of additional funds following a demand by the Nigerian Governors Forum.
In a statement in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, the organisation’s head of programmes, said: “It is worrisome that more than three months after a total of 111 billion naira was injected into the Niger Delta through the first tranche of Paris Club refunds, none of the nine state governors in the region has informed the people how much is being claimed, how much was received and what they were doing to fulfil the conditions tied to the funds by the Federal Government.
“Also not made public are details of their expenditure plans for the funds, where the funds fit into their state annual budgets and actual utilisation of the funds on the ground.”
The statement expressed concern that most states were not using the funds according to the agreed terms and in a transparent and accountable manner. “In a couple of states the money has been included in the 2017 budget; in the others there is no clear picture on where the money is going,” said Bolton-Akpan.
“In some states, the local government share of the funds has been released to local government councils in line with the agreement reached with the federal government, while in several others this has not been done or is being done only on paper in the absence of elected councils. In many of the states, there is nothing to show that at least 50 percent of the funds have been spent on salaries and pensions as directed.”
According to the statement, past experiences had shown that with 13 percent derivation in most states in the region, there are genuine grounds for concern that the refunds could be treated by the governors as a windfall. It would be such a shame if this money goes up in smoke.
The governors have already signed an undertaking with the Federal Government that in the event of the amount already paid exceeding verified claims; the surplus will be deducted directly from the state’s monthly federal allocation. This means in effect that for some states the refund may actually end up as a loan, which is why extra prudence must be exercised in managing these special inflows.”
The statement added, “Over 35 percent (or about $2.3 billion) of the total claims of $6.9 billion by states from the London-Paris Club debt refunds will be going to the nine states of the Niger Delta. Such quantum of resources can either make a difference for millions of citizens of the Niger Delta if managed judiciously, or further deepen the poverty and inequality in the region if misused.”
The statement noted the current recession is pushing the people of the region into desperate survival measures, with more and more pressure on the fragile ecosystem and lean resources of the region for livelihoods.
“Every effort should therefore be put into managing whatever resources accrue to the region during these lean times in a transparent and accountable manner. We call on citizens and state legislatures in the region to ask questions on how this money is spent.”
