By Uzair Adam Imam
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday accused the state governors of corruption and diversion of the local government allocations to own personal treasury.
President Buhari decried the menace, saying it was one of the major challenges that hindered the country’s development.
He said the state governors used to collect money on behalf of the council areas in their states and remit just half of such allocation to the council chairman.
Buhari disclosed this at the Presidential Villa in Abuja at an event hosted for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.
Buhari, who spoke about the height of corruption in the country, said the ugly behaviour of the governors also encourages corruption in the local government system, thereby inhibiting development at the grassroots.
He added, “Speaking from personal experience, a Chief Executive of a state, a qualified lawyer, trained, the treatment of local governments, what they did, this is my personal experience.
“If the monies from the federal government to state governments is N100m, let’s put it at N100m. N50m will be sent to the chairman with a letter that he’ll sign that he received 100 million.
“The governor will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants to, and then the chairman of the local government will see how much he must pay in salaries; to hell goes development. Monies for the salaries will be given, and the balance will put in his pocket. This is what is happening.
“This is Nigeria. It’s a terrible thing. You cannot say the person who was doing these was not educated. He was a qualified lawyer, and he was experienced, yet he participated in this type of corruption.
“So, it’s a matter of conscience, whichever level we find ourselves. As a leader, you sit here, with all the sacrifices the country is making by putting you through institutions and getting you ready to lead.
“The fundamental thing is personal integrity. May God help us.” The president said.
