A member of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Dr Usoro Akpanusoh, has accused state governors of being responsible for the the non-implementation of financial autonomy for the legislature, judiciary and local government councils, long debated and agreed upon.
Akpanusoh tod Daily Sun that a selfish disposition on the part of the governors has stifled other arms and levels of government and has, to a very large extent, contributed to the hardship experienced by Nigerians.
Akpanusoh, who is Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Public Utility and Rural Development, admonished the governors governors that no political office lasts forever. He said they all will someday leave office to give room for the agitations of the masses to come to fruition.
He recalled that some governors who opposed the autonomy of the Houses of Assembly during the last dispensation later drummed support for it when they were later elected to the National Assembly.
‘Governors are the problem of this country, let them reduce tension in the country. Some of the governors are power drunk, let them allow peace. Why should the arm that is making government to work, the judiciary, be denied autonomy?,’ he asked.
‘Just look at what the whole country is going through at the moment. Judiciary and staff of the Assembly have no business with strike. Just imagine what some of these persons who have been rendered idle may begin to contemplate, some may resort to crime.
‘We are talking about implementation of the autonomy that had since been passed. I just want to tell Nigerian governors that they will all leave office someday and every agitations of the masses will someday come to pass,’ he stated.
Having stifled other sectors of the economy and arms of government, leading to increased number of high blood pressure and other health challenges, Akpanusoh said the governors have now left their constitutional responsibilities to take up medical bills of citizens whose sectors were selfishly deprived from functioning.
‘Let’s pray that the present hardship in Nigeria does not evoke civil war. There is so much tension, so much pressure, everyone is complaining of hunger, politicians are now struggling to survive.
‘Social media has now become a centre for development for politicians, from village heads to governors. Everyone wants to be seen on social media. They all seem to have forgotten about the primary reason they were elected into public offices,’ he complained
Speaking further on the level of hardship in Nigeria, the lawmaker also accused the federal government of aiding corruption by its refusal to openly declare revenues accruing to its coffers
‘The revenue accruing to the federal government is not openly declared for Nigerians to know what to expect. There is so much corruption at the federal government level and yet they pretend to be fighting corruption, while promoting it by their corrupt acts,’ he said.