Bailout Funds: CNPP, Civil Society Groups to Begin Assessment Tour of States, Urges Govs to Emulate Ugwuanyi

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) is to commence an appraisal tour of the states of the federation that received bailout funds from the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Also to join in what the CNPP tagged a fact-finding tour is a coalition of civil society groups drawn from all states of the federation, as part of efforts to hold state governors accountable on the bailout funds utilisation.

This was disclosed in statement signed by the CNPP Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu.

While commending the Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for judicious use of the bailout fund, the CNPP reminded state governors that the money was strictly meant for payment of salary and pension arrears.

“The bailout funds were given to states for the sole purpose of alleviating the sufferings of the states’ workforce, not for capital projects.

“Our tour of the states of the federation, alongside a coalition of civil society groups drawn from 36 states of Nigeria, will be a on fact-finding mission on how the states spent the bailout for workers salaries and pensions arrears.

“It is important to hold the state governors accountable, through a robust engagement, to ensure that the bailout finds were not diverted into other uses”, it said.

The CNPP observed that “surprisingly, an unexpected state, Enugu State, is getting accolades for its purposeful utilisation of its own bailout fund.

“The recent high rating of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi by the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration as the best in the utilisation of the federal government bailout funds in accordance with the principles of accountability is commendable and worthy of emulation by other states governors.

The CNPP, therefore, urged “all Nigerian governors to take a cue from Governor Ugwuanyi, who was recently awarded Man of the year by the Authority Newspapers for 2016 for Excellence and Good Governance in the areas of Development and Infrastructure in the hitherto civil service state”, the CNPP observed.

The statement added that the list of all the participating civil society groups in the assessment tour of the states of the federation was being compiled and would be released in due course.

Recall that the chairman, Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration, Senator Abdullahi Gumel, had at the rounded off of his committee’s legislative oversight function on the utilisation of bailout funds to the state named Governor Ugwuanyi as the best in the funds’ use for its purpose after their scrutiny of the state’s record.