Allegations are being made about how the Nigerian government has utilised Ways and Means which is an overdraft taken by the Federal Government from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Focusing on such allegations can take our attention away from what led to the current level of overdependence on Ways and Means. It can also misdirect us from the need to focus on how to get the economy running which can help facilitate less dependence on CBN overdraft.
As an observer of the economic situation in the country, I see that the dangers are many for the nation when the government takes so many loans rather than generate enough revenue to fund even its basic functions. Loans (internal and external) are what successive governments in Nigeria have often been taking and the current administration is not exempted. This isn’t a sign of development and we all know it. In fact, it is retrogression, and this has both international and domestic dimensions. I recall reading a material which explains that one of the requirements for the take-off of the Economic Partnership Agreements that the Economic Community of West African States had with the European Union was to stop depending on loans from their respective central banks. The requirement was meant to have been gradually met from 2000 till the present but these were the same decades – especially from 2012 till the present – that the Nigerian governments kept taking funds from the CBN due to lowered revenue and global economic challenges in their diverse forms.
Domestically, loans from the CBN carry high interest rates. The main loan itself must be paid back at a specific time according to the CBN Act. This is a heavy burden for the government to bear since it is not even making as much revenue as it projects, and on top of this is the reality that the government expends Ways and Means on the basic running of government functions. What this means in practice is that Ways and Means are expended for recurrent expenditure, payment of salaries and pensions across the three tiers of government. In fact, public records show that much of the fund was used in settling interests on the loans taken rather than any tangible project. Noteworthy also is that the lower tiers of government have no financial means to be of assistance to the Federal Government. It’s a complicated matter and I would assume we should focus our attention on finding solutions to these challenges. This should be of interest to all well-meaning Nigerians. It is an aspect that should interest the intelligentsia as well as the media.
I think the media should be asking relevant questions, calling attention to the different issues involved in the situation that led to how the government now depends on Ways and Means for its basic operations. The media should strive to maintain the conversation on some of the details that have led to how the Federal Government gets less revenue from crude oil, its main revenue earner.
There are real problems when a nation’s challenges are left unattended. Attending to them requires meaningful and intelligent conversations around the issues. But what I see in online conversations, especially, is that attention has been diverted; all focus being on allegations that the media that reports them does not prove and readers do not call attention to relevant questions.
For this reason, it has been suggested that some agencies should either be merged or scrapped completely. This is to cut the cost of governance at all levels. How far has this recommendation been implemented? What are the obstacles to the implementation?
There are ghost workers who collect salaries when they are not employed by the government. Have the books on members of staff in agencies and ministries been fully vetted to root out ghost workers? This is important in a situation where even the digital-based process of vetting staff has been reported to be compromised. Even a former Accountant-General of the Federation ran an office that allegedly tampered with the digital process and was accused of pocketing N108bn.
It is also well reported that the cost of maintaining politicians in public offices is too high for a nation with reduced revenue such as Nigeria. The funds used to maintain them are constituting a drain on the finances of the nation. The controversy regarding the purchase of Sports Utility Vehicles for lawmakers is still fresh in our memory. What should be the right amount to pay political office holders is a relevant question we need to answer and implement. Are the various tiers of government working to ensure this is known and implemented? Is there even the will to embark on such an endeavour on the part of the various tiers of government?
The level of corruption among politicians in public office is another area of interest. It should generate more debate and spur more investigative reports. The need for this is seen in how a serving minister and service chief have lately been alleged to be involved in corrupt practices leading to the loss of billions of naira in revenue by the government. Some commentators stated that what the accused minister did was just the tip of the iceberg. Addressing these issues is meant to ensure that even if Ways and Means are utilised to pay salaries at all, it is not wasted on paying ghost workers and over-bloated staff members that the various tiers of government do not need. Above all, stopping government dependence on Ways and Means is crucial and we should focus on it.
