The Nigeria Labour Congress and some civil society organisations have advised the federal government not to release the outstanding N469bn Paris Club refund to the outgoing state governors whose tenures expire on May 29.
The president of NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba said in an interview that the reason for canvassing for a delay in disbursement bordered on accountability and the manner the previous refunds were used by some governors.
“The incumbent governors have a few days to go; so I am of the strong view that the money should actually be given to the incoming governors who would start on a clean slate and address substantial issues in governance.
“Clearly, some of the outgoing governors would like to use the money to pay severance allowances, which I think is not a priority and you know that some of the states have spent huge amount of money on their build-up for the 2019 elections.”
Similarly, the Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project (SERAP) said the disbursement of the money should be deferred until after May 29.
SERAP’s executive director, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni, said: “Since many of them are in the twilight of their tenure, the payment should be delayed till after the inauguration of new governors.
“If somebody has only a couple of days to the end of his tenure, why give them an opportunity to superintend that volume of money.”
However, the chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said both returning and new governors could not be trusted and advised the federal government to set up a monitoring team that would track the money from when it is disbursed to when it is used.
“We know the kind of politicians we have and we cannot trust them, both incoming and outgoing. The incoming governors could see it as a welcome package while the outgoing ones may see it as severance benefit,” he said.
