Is there any need to scrap security vote?

 

Dr. Ona Ekhomu (Security expert)

One of the ex-governors, some ex-legislators and other stakeholders speak on the issue surrounding security vote for the President and governors.

Despite the accusation that security vote is abused by the executive, I think security vote is still very important. Security vote assists a chief executive to settle some security challenges that are outside the knowledge of the public and the media. It helps a chief executive to keep the country or a state safe. To me, it is a worthwhile budget. Members of the public may not fathom what is it all about but it is important to know that a chief executive needs it.

The question is – would we rather want a state where everybody shoots at anybody because we think security vote is not important? Do we imagine how bad it would be if we say the executive should not have access to security vote?

I reckon there is the need for accountability. But statecraft is not an all comers’ affair. It is not for everybody to know everything that is happening. There are things that are not for the public to know. There are things that should be in the public domain. Democracy is not about disclosure all the time. Democracy needs secrecy to survive. There are things that should be secretly done.

What is important is to look at the value of the security vote. What would we have if there is no security vote? If we would have anarchy, I would rather we make provision for security vote so that there can be peace. My children go to schools in the morning while I go to work. If there are shootings out there, we cannot move around. The same thing applies to every other family. Imagine the situation in the North-East; imagine if such a crisis engulfs an entire country.

Let us trust those we voted to govern us. I don’t support corruption but we should understand that certain things are better done without the knowledge of the public.

In Lagos State, there is relative peace because the government is doing what is expected of it. In some states, the governors pocket their security allocations. There are even some governors that pocket their entire allocations. Would you now say that there should be no allocations to those states because their governors misappropriate their resources? We cannot say that. In the same way, we cannot say security votes should be scrapped.

The replacement of the parliamentary system of government with the expensive presidential system has put the Nigerian economy in a precarious situation. Coupled with the reckless spending of most of our past leaders, it has worsened the state of the nation’s economy in recent years, making it difficult for many states to pay workers’ salaries.

About 80 per cent of the annual national budget goes into personal emoluments while a 20 per cent is left for capital projects. Adding the security vote of the President and governors to the huge salaries and allowances of public officials has reduced the funds available for capital projects drastically. Many Nigerians have advocated the replacement of the presidential system with the parliamentary system that would be run on a part-time basis. This is important.

Adding security vote to the huge allowances of chief executives does not favour the state public finances. So, security vote should be stopped entirely.

Why can’t we do away with security vote? It is a system that is difficult to understand, and should not be encouraged in modern states. If there is the need for some budget items not to be known to everybody, what we should do is to create an oversight function system where we agree on certain amount that would be spent.

We need legislators who are respected enough such that when there is a security issue that should not be known to everybody, there is a committee made up of the members of the parliament that should serve as an approving authority. There should be an accountability process.

Security vote has been an avenue for slush fund, which public officials use as they please. That should not be allowed in a modern democracy. The system should not be allowed to continue.

I see security vote as a means of siphoning public funds and it should be stopped. If a president or governor needs to spend money for any purpose, it shouldn’t be done in secrecy. If a president or governor needs to spend money on security, it should pass through the accountant-general or the finance commissioner. As a former Speaker, I know for sure that in the Niger Delta, some states collected as much as N2bn monthly as security vote – this was even when federal allocations to states were very good. Security vote is outright stealing. Of what good does it serve?  It should be scrapped.

What is certain is that the expenses are real. The executive arm carries much burden that borders on security matters. Some of the expenses are not what they could write invoices for. But there is so much abuse in the system and the amount is too much. You cannot be talking about hundreds of millions of naira as security vote when the country’s economy is facing challenges.

A lot of money is spent on the Department of State Services and other security agencies every month. There are a lot of other ‘unseen’ security expenses. Certainly, money should be voted for those expenses. But the amount should be realistic. The economy is suffering now; the chief executives should understand that.

It is difficult to say whether security vote should be cancelled or not. Obviously, the chief executives need money to solve security issues. But why is insecurity in the country rising while money is being budgeted to address it? What is the money used for? These are vital questions we must ask. Not until we find answers to them, we cannot take a valid position on the issue.

Several millions of naira are voted monthly for security matters. Yet, the insecurity situation is getting worse. It is a puzzle. I don’t know how anybody would explain that.

Security vote should not be stopped. But those that spend it should be reasonable. When I was a governor, my security vote was N100,000 per annum, and it was adequate because the Federal Government shouldered the responsibility of security through the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian military. But today, the governors are in trouble because they are the ones taking care of the operations of the police and the military in their states. The Federal Government does not give them sufficient funds. So, they have to rely on state governments for support.

Definitely, we need security vote. But it has to be reasonable. Secondly, it must be accounted for. However, accounting for it may not be as detailed as other conventional expenditures like the payment of wages. This is because there are security expenses a governor or president cannot explain.

Security vote should be made available to the President, governors and local government chairmen but there must be accountability. Today, security vote provide an avenue to steal money. That must stop. As a governor, I never exceeded my security vote because it was adequate.

The Federal Government should take full responsibility for the operations of the police and the military to avoid transferring unnecessary expenditures to state governments. What is given to states as security vote should depend on the situation of each state and accountability should be encouraged.