Group tackes Yar'Adua, Akpabio over Ekiti

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar' Adua yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, came under severe criticism for allegedly moving the machinery of the Federal Government to Ekiti State for partisan purposes.

The Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group (NDEBUMOG) in a statement described the president's action as ''a misuse of state administrative resources'',

President Yar'Adua was in Ekiti state recently with a team of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, among whom were Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State.

''Sadly, while Mr. President wants Nigerians to believe his much doctored electoral reform process, the show in Ekiti deceptively conveyed the message that, indeed, Nigeria has a long way to go and the PDP cannot take Nigeria to the promised land'', National Co-ordinator of the group, George-Hill Anthony said.

According to them, ''globally, countries are reforming laws governing the use of State Administrative Resources during electoral processes. These reforms, principally encapsulates Political Campaign Financing and Abuse of State  Administrative Resources.Nigeria cannot therefore shy away from it. The Political Finance Monitoring Group (PFMG) in Nigeria and other stakeholders must therefore embed these elements (in the electoral reform process) to curb abuse of State Administrative Resources during political campaigns by ruling parties in Nigeria''.

Continuing, they said, ''President Yar'Adua and all the governors that attanded the evil party in Ekiti State chronically abused Nigeria's state administrative resources by using government resources like vehicles, aides paid by the state,security votes-expended on the trip, amongst others. For sure, these personalities are to go back and draw allowances at government cost for an event that clearly was private. Nigerians cannot also excavate these hidden campaign sources, unless the FOI regime comes into force in Nigeria.Infact, all the political parties in Nigeria are guilty of this abnormally. A level playing field shall continue to elude the Parties if there is no critical reform on our Political Campaign Finance mechanism''.

For NDEBUMOG, ''more worrisome though, is that,Akwa Ibom State happened to be among states in Nigeria enjoying huge allocations acruing to it from the Federation Account. However, citizens of the state are ranked among the highest suffering from poverty, educational disadvantage, cultural dislocation, social disruption, including irreversible disruption of the natural equilibrium of the ecosystem associated to oil exploration in the catchment area(s) within the state like: Mkpanak, Ibeno, Onna, Uruan, Ikot Abasi. Infact, there are areas within Ibeno where the Communities are still drinking water from the Sea/River that they defecate into.You must be to own an umbrella to cover your head while defecating by the beach at Ibeno-an oil producing community in Akwa Ibom State''.

''Former Governor Victor Attah'', they went on, ''rather than develop the state used millions of the state resources deceptfully on the 'struggle for resource control' scheming it as a dwelling strategy as targeted to salvage of the suffering people. But his real intention was to use(d) that potty gimmick to launder his political empire for Presidential Election bargaining which failed woefully.The selfish political greedism of Governor Attah cleared the way for emergence of Governor Godswill Akpabio who's ambition had subdued the ethnic dichotomy of the kingmakers, just as a way of mocking Attah's perverse "dynasty" in the succession politics of Akwa Ibom State''.

With the assumption of office by Godswill Akpabio, NDEBUMOG Regional Accountability Center said it had expected a massive Infrastuctural re-engineering, building of human capital, survival (social) grants to the elderly and widows, micro credits, international scholarships, diaspora returnees incentives, reviving of industries, among others.

''But all is yet naught.Governor Akpabio also runs government as if he's a military dictator not willing to accept constructive criticism even as his government has made participatory governance zero and indisposed at allowing citizens' access the fiscal budgetary document(s) of the state.This is arousing public suspicion that accountability isn't smelling in the State, since the tenets of core democratic principles that were elements of campaigning for votes before the coming of Governor Akpabio has been murdered. Akpbio's presence in Ekiti therefore, carries more governance bargage than salvation'', the group said.

NDEBUMOG Regional Accountability Center, says it is worried about accountability issues in the state and further finds it appalling to hear that Governor Akpabio may have given one armored Mercedes Benz GL (SUV) gift to the head of one of the anti-corruption agencies in the country.