The Trip To Rwanda

Against the backdrop of calls for a drastic cut in cost of governance, some Nigerian governors, of course with some of their aides, recently travelled to the Rwandan city of Kigali to attend a 3-day retreat on governance.

Although the training focused on effective leadership with interactive programmes, most Nigerians were alarmed that the governors could still waste scarce resources travelling to Rwanda for such an event, suggesting clearly that we lack the capacity to convene that kind of training locally.

There is no plausible reason, in my opinion, why the retreat was not held in Nigeria. This was a retreat that was meant to afford the governors opportunity to reflect, learn and exchange ideas on effective leadership and complex challenges as part of the overall drive towards raising the bar for governance in Nigeria.

The Rwanda trip reminds me, for yet another time, of the vexatious idea of presidents of African countries travelling to China or Russia for Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) or the Russia-Africa summit, rather than inviting either Jinping or Putin to the continent for such summits.

Well, the knowledge that the trip was fully funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provides a breather. At least public sentiment has shifted from criticism to understanding.

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However, of the governors who attended the just concluded training, Nasarawa State’s Abdullahi Sule, in my estimation, stood out. On arrival from Kigali, Sule returned to the government coffers, an amount he took as estacode, sparking debate about governors’ financial ethics.

“Take me for instance, in Nasarawa State.  When I was going, I received some Duty Travel Allowance (DTA) for hotel accommodation and others. When I got to Rwanda, I realized the UNDP had paid everything one hundred per cent. When I returned home, I returned all the money to the coffers of the state government.  We didn’t spend anything because the UNDP decided to take care of our stay in Kigali,” Sule said.

But that is not the first time Sule, according to credible insider sources, will be returning unspent allowances from foreign trips to the coffers of Nasarawa State. One of such instances occurred in 2019.

In 2019, Governor Sule returned his three days estacodes to the state coffers after returning from the 74th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) where he accompanied former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Even though Sule spent five days in the United States, because the UNGA event lasted for two days, he returned his three days’ DTA to the coffers of Nasarawa State since the remaining three days were spent for a private visit.

There is no contesting the fact that Governor Sule’s laudable conduct underscores the importance of open financial practices among public officials. I think in returning his allowances to the coffers of the state and publicly announcing his action, Governor Sule is throwing a challenge on his colleagues.

No fewer than 19 governors attended the Kigali event. How many of them, in all honesty, took estacodes from their state coffers? Now that it has been established that the UNDP fully funded the trip, have they returned the money to their states’ coffers?

And for Governor Sule to get my full compliments, he should publicly declare how much he returned to the coffers of Nasarawa State so that Nigerians can have an idea of what their governors take as estacode and duty travel allowance each time they travel.

Governors and their deputies, according to the provisions of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which became effective on July 1, 2009, are entitled to estacode and Duty Tour Allowances (DTA) which would be made available to them upon request. But how much do governors take as estacodes?

Unfortunately, the commission did not set any limit to the amount of estacode and duty tour allowances the governors and deputy governors can receive. This suggests, therefore, that a governor is free to take any amount from the state coffers as remuneration for estacodes when on foreign trips. The amount a governor can collect as a duty tour allowance for any of his local tours is also not stated in the RMAFC package.

Understandably, while on foreign trips, such allowances are given in foreign currencies. With dwindling revenue and increased calls on the citizens to make sacrifices, public sector leaders are under moral obligation to drastically cut down the cost of governance. That includes a drastic reduction in the emoluments of political office holders.

It is crystal clear that the current cost of running our government, which has been on the high and alarming side, is not sustainable.

Essentially, nations all over the world are focusing on cutting the cost of governance to free up resources for infrastructural development which will impact positively on the lives of their citizens.

For instance, India introduced e-governance in administration in order to reduce the cost of running its government. Ethiopia, Thailand, Kenya, Rwanda, among other nations, are adopting cost reduction measures.

Government must be ready, more than ever before, to do all it takes to free up resources for the provision of infrastructure, and ultimately boost investments that will have attendant positive impact on employment.

To demonstrate minimal modicum of seriousness, cutting cost of governance must begin with or include a drastic reduction in the number of political appointees and the number of vehicles governors and other appointees use in their convoys.

The quest for financial prudence and effective allocation of resources remains an imperative shared by citizens and policymakers alike. In times of economic challenges, leaders must heed the call for responsible financial stewardship to foster a more prosperous future for all Nigerians.

And to the extent that governors’ allowances and other entitlements form part of the concern over huge government expenses, the RMAFC must make governors’ estacodes and DTA public. Until it is made open for public scrutiny, Nigerians will always seek to know how much a governor takes as estacode for foreign travels and how much they take as DTA during their numerous local trips.

Make no mistake; with the increased pressure on the citizens to brace up for the current economic challenges in the face of fiscal measures being taken by the government, that question will not go away anytime soon.