Pentouch 
By Ehi Braimah
Naija Times Journalism Foundation (NTJF) unequivocally condemns the reported wasteful spending of scarce public resources by Local Governments Chairmen in Adamawa State on a needless trip by their wives to Turkey for a so-called leadership training. The last time we checked, the spouses of LGA Chairmen are not public officials, and even the idea of leadership training in a foreign land amounts to a bogus contraption meant to siphon public funds.
In light of this outrageous activity, the question needing an answer is: what leadership training do these LGA Chairmen’s wives need that cannot be received from Nigerian institutions and at no cost to taxpayers? Must public finances pay for these needless expenses at a time key sectors like education, healthcare, infrastructure and social welfare remain neglected and in need of serious attention? It is insulting to the sensibilities of long- suffering citizens, disheartening and to say the least, provocative for public funds to be used for such frivolities. It defies belief and common sense that at a time Nigerians are clamouring for the prudent and judicious use of scarce public resources, public officials at the local level are busy frittering away funds on activities, which add no value to the lived realities of citizens. This Foundation is fully aware that Adamawa State remains one of the poorest in Nigeria.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Adamawa State is Nigeria’s fifth poorest state with a poverty rate of 75.41%. The state has also borne the brunt of the Boko Haram insurgency and needs key investments to ensure the recovery of critical sectors. Therefore, these peculiarities in terms of extreme poverty, humanitarian crisis and the need for investment in important sectors to stabilise the state, are core areas of governance, which should engage the attention of all responsible political and governance actors. To abandon all of these essential areas and focus on needless travels to foreign lands in the name of learning about leadership at the expense of taxpayers, is to say the least, quite irresponsible.
This Foundation has also observed, based on data from all credible sources that although the travel of the Local Government Chairmen’s wives was paid for from public funds, there were no budget lines prepared for such expenditure. This amounts to engaging in unbridled corruption, fiscal indiscipline and impunity. We are therefore of the considered position that the relevant anti-corruption agencies, specifically the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), should immediately cause an investigation of this gross abuse of office and the serious violation of extant public finance laws. While it could be argued that this particular infraction should be handled at the level of Adamawa State, the scale of the corruption involved is symptomatic of the behaviour of Nigeria’s political class
This Foundation is convinced that decisively investigating and holding to account those involved in these foreign trips of officials’ wives’ impunity, would send a clear message to corrupt public officials that misuse and abuse of public finances will no longer be tolerated. For the anti-corruption agencies, holding these errant public officials in Adamawa State accountable would be squarely in line with the provisions of Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended. The section is clear: “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.”
Importantly, this Foundation calls on stakeholders within society to rise to the challenge of confronting and denouncing corruption and all forms of abuse of public office, whether at the federal, state or local level. We believe that for this to be possible, the role of citizens, the media, civil society organisations, cultural institutions and religious gatekeepers, is of utmost importance.
Across the country, this Foundation calls upon whistle blowers, citizen journalists, bloggers and anti- corruption organisations to be on guard in order to decisively fight all forms of corruption. This task is even more critical in the context of the tax reform conversation currently going on in the country. It is our considered position that it is not just enough to widen the tax net in Nigeria by getting more people to pay. It is equally crucial to ensure accountability and judicious use of tax monies and other funds pouring into the coffers of governments at all levels. Ultimately, citizens bear the brunt of corruption and needless expenditures such as the Turkey trip by wives of Adamawa LGAs helmsmen. It is the collective responsibility of citizens, the media and civil society that all forms of corruption are fought and defeated.
Naija Times Journalism Foundation will be available to work with and train various citizen groups in these areas of corruption prevention.
…… Ehi Braimah is the Chairman, Naija Times Journalism Foundation
