At 8 a.m. on a Monday, the highways of Ado-Ekiti buzzed with the clamour of automobile horns. The constant sound of “beep! beep! beep!” filled the air as vehicles periodically stopped at the traffic light at the Fajuyi Memorial Park in the city’s heart. Among these are vehicles purchased with loans by former public officeholders who have not made any repayments since leaving office years ago.
The 2021 audit report revealed that ₦351.8 million was to be recovered on monetised vehicles from public office holders under the Office of the Accountant General of Ekiti state.
“The sum of ₦241,036,241.66 was outstanding on monetised vehicles to the past political office holders as of December 2020, out of which the sum of ₦14,116,992.31 was paid, leaving a balance of ₦226,919,249.35. However, additional vehicles worth ₦124,889,366.40 were purchased and monetised for the current political office holders as detailed in Appendix II. The total outstanding balance of ₦351,808,615.75 is to be recovered on monetised vehicles from political office holders,” the audit report stated.
The report details that among the indebted current political office holders are high-profile politicians, including the present governor, Biodun Oyebanji who was formerly the Chief of Staff, and many of the current commissioners in their previous political roles.
The auditor’s conclusion regarding the outstanding indebtedness reads: “It is important to note that if the outstanding sum were recovered, it would help the State Government to meet some of its obligations. It was also discovered that some of the past political officeholders are currently holding various offices under the present administration.”
To confirm if the debt has been paid by the past and present political office holders, rigorous checks of the 2022 audit report published on the Ekiti state website were conducted, but nothing regarding the indebtedness was mentioned.
Disregard for the FOI, which almost implicated the present public officeholders
In 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan passed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to make public records and information accessible to citizens. The act clearly states the right of any individual or organisation to access information from government ministries, agencies, and departments.
Ekiti, amongst other states, was the first to domesticate the FOI Law.
Under this law, a FOI request to get the details of the current status of the outstanding debts, the total amount recovered, and the names of the current debtors was submitted to the office of the Accountant General of Ekiti State as a last resort for information.
The letter, delivered in person by this reporter on March 1, 2024, also inquired about the full implementation of the Auditor-General’s recommendation.
After 8 weeks of waiting without a response, another FOI request was submitted to the Office of the Accountant General. A staff member in the secretary’s office halted attempts to receive the Accountant General’s contact information, mentioning that the delay might be because “the person expected to respond to it has chosen not to respond.”
As of the time of filing this report, 16 weeks after the initial request and 9 weeks after the second request, the Accountant General office is yet to respond or contact this reporter and Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI) to answer the questions raised in the letter.
This silence flouts the seven days for responses in Section 4 of the FOI Act, which states: “Where information is applied for under this Act, the public institution to which the application is made shall, subject to sections 6, 7, and 8 of this Act, within 7 days after the application is received- (a) make the information available to the applicant (b) Where the public institution considers that the application should be denied, the institution shall give written notice to the applicant that access to all or part of the information will not be granted, stating reasons for the denial, and the section of this Act under which the denial is made.”
While the Accountant General withheld this vital information, PLSI was eventually able to obtain the Auditor General’s report which revealed that a significant part of the loan by current officials have been paid. The Accountant General’s failure to disclose this crucial information and respond to the FOI request could have led to the unfair implication of current political officials, whose names would have been published as debtors, even though most had paid their debts in full and others had made partial payments.
Analysis of the Outstanding Indebtedness Of Monetized Vehicles To Past And Current Political Office Holders
A check on the 2020 audit report revealed that 126 past political office holders were owing a total of ₦241 million. The 2021 audit showed a reduction to 115 people with an outstanding debt of ₦226 million.
Since the Ekiti state 2022 audit report made public did not disclose this indebtedness, many were led to assume that the debts had been cleared.
Following weeks of intense search and inquiry, by the obtained 2022 Ekiti State Auditor General Domestic report, it was disclosed that the number of debtors (past officeholders) had reduced to 104, with an outstanding balance of ₦213. 8 million.
And, the number of debtors (current officeholders) decreased from 48 to 10, resulting in a significant reduction in debt from ₦124.8 to ₦9.8 million.
Clearly, there is a wide gap between the loan repayment from past and current officials within the same audit years.
This trend indicates that after three years, a major percentage of former officials still have not repaid the monetised vehicles debt.
The auditor recommended that “The Government is advised to make a monthly deduction from salaries of the concerned current political office holders. Also, those not currently holding any office but still have outstanding claims from the State Government should use the same to defray their outstanding balance. In another way, those who do not have any claims should be contacted or have their names published in the newspapers.”
The requests to ascertain the current state of debt and the effectiveness of the aforementioned recommendation remain unanswered due to the lack of response to the FOI letter.
However, while the present governor and a few current officeholders have had their debts reduced drastically, others under the current administration have successfully repaid their debts in full, as documented in the 2022 domestic audit report.
Governor Oyebanji, in particular, had paid 74% of the N10.6 million debt, remaining 2.75 million to be paid as of the 2022 audit year.
To put this issue into perspective, this reporter assessed how the amount yet to be recovered from the past political officeholders could enhance key sectors, especially education in Ekiti state.
How many Water System Toilets can ₦213 million construct?
In Itapa, a small town under the Oye local government, stands the Saint Philomena Nursery and Primary School. Despite its significance to the learning environment, the school lacks basic sanitation facilities, forcing the schoolchildren to defecate around the school premises. This contributes to open defecation in Nigeria, making it one of the countries with the highest rate of open defecation in the world.
“We need water system toilets and a borehole in the school,” the students and teachers echoed.
Lamenting about hopes dashed in former years, Mr Fola Ajayi, a Primary 2 teacher, explained, “There was a time when senior officials came and measured the space for the borehole and toilets, but since then, we have not seen them for over three years.”
In 2023, the Wash, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program raised alarms about the ongoing issue of open defecation, highlighting that around 1 million residents of Ekiti State still engage in this unhealthy practice despite its apparent dangers.
In the 2024 state budget, ₦15 million was budgeted to construct two public toilets with solar-powered boreholes and overhead tanks. If this figure is a metric, ₦213 million can be used to build 14 water system toilets with running water in schools across Ekiti communities.
This investment would significantly help students and communities by providing proper sanitation facilities and reducing the practice of open defecation in the state.
Can the amount Revive The Ekiti State Library Board?
Known as the Land of Honour and Integrity, Ekiti boasts some of the most renowned homegrown academicians and scholars in Nigeria. There is a popular saying, though unproven, that “Ekiti has the highest number of professors in Nigeria.”
The reality of the state’s library is quite the opposite—it’s dilapidated.
Despite previous budgetary allocations for the library’s rehabilitation, no efforts have been made to execute the necessary repairs and upgrades.
Engr. Peter Akeredolu, a petroleum engineer and frequent visitor to the library, spoke about the diminished value of the facility. “The current government needs to address the condition of this place. The few students who still visit have to bring all their materials with them because there are no available resources here.
“Besides the leaking roof, the books in the library are outdated and no longer useful for acquiring new knowledge. The government should not only improve the building itself but also update the resources and books on the shelves; Ekiti should be proud of this library,” he said.
If refunded, the indebted funds can be diverted into renovating and expanding the Ekiti State Library building. Likewise, the money would make furnishing, computerisation, and book supply possible.
For Instance, the federal government allocated ₦20 million to renovate a library in Plateau State which appears to be similar in size to the Ekiti State Library Board. Based on this, the list in the table below comprises the primary essentials that may be needed to revamp the library building, as estimated by online marketplaces.
An expert says the car loan scheme should be discontinued.
Allocating state funds to monetise vehicles for public office holders may be legal but becomes an offence when the funds are not recovered, according to Adebayo Abdullahi, a public finance and accountability expert.
Adebayo stated that the state government should instead, focus on the common man’s interest before implementing initiatives that benefit public officeholders.
He said, “It also shows the level of prioritisation in the state; they consider giving loans to political officeholders who receive numerous allowances over developing industrial systems with those loans, which could help many individuals and businesses to earn and be more productive.”
He concluded by suggesting that the government stop investing in purchasing cars for political officeholders to prevent both past and current officeholders from using state funds for unnecessary purchases and accumulating needless debts, as highlighted in the audit report.
This report was produced under the Public Audit Media Fellowship of Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI)