…Tells FG to stop ministers from touching money, to curb corruption
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former Federal Commissioner for Works, Femi Okunnu has disagreed with those calling for special status for Lagos State.
Okunnu while speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday also commented on corruption perpetuated by politicians and suggested that the government should ensure that permanent secretaries rather than ministers should be responsible for accounting in the ministry.
Speaking further, he said, “Lagos State doesn’t need any special status. I disagree with those who out of context when Lagos ceased to be the federal capital started demanding special status for Lagos. That has its own historical meaning. The special status as at the time before they moved to Abuja was because diplomatic missions at that time didn’t pay rates which ordinary persons and companies pay. They were exempted from that. Basically that was what gave birth to special status for Lagos. It ceased to apply when the federal capital moved to Abuja, so there should be no special status for Lagos or any other capital of the country.
On the issue of corruption in the country, he said, “As regards pilfering of money by politicians, when the British left the county, they left a very good civil service. The administration was very good. In 1958 there was nationalization which led to recruitment of the best brains in the Nigeria civil service. Until the regime of General Babangida, the permanent secretary of a ministry was the accounting officer, not the minister. Babangida changed it, took it away from the permanent secretaries and gave it to political appointees. That is one vital error which the government I hope will correct.
“Make the permanent secretary of the ministry who has worked through there for years, let him or her be the accounting officer and not the minister. The minister shouldn’t touch a kobo. In all my seven years, seven months in General Gowon’s government, I didn’t touch a kobo. It was the permanent secretary who will account for the money being voted for the ministry every year. That’s all, restore the office of accounting officer to the permanent secretary. He’s there before the minister is appointed, he will remain there after the minister has gone. The civil service was degraded after the purge of 1975 by the late Muritala Mohammed and General Obasanjo who took over when he was assassinated in February 1976. The civil service hasn’t recovered from that purge till today. Restore the civil service to its old role.
“You don’t know the background of the minister. The president appoints after consultations with political aides or associates, it is shorter, but the civil service is there.
“I think that will solve a lot of problems about money disappearing, money being paid into private accounts by politicians.
He also spoke about the planned relocation of federal government parastatals, where he urged Nigerians not to read any meaning, political or otherwise into the arrangement. “I think we should leave the government to pursue its policy, choose the location for pursuing its policy in any part of the country,” Okunnu said.
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