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Nigeria: Governor Goje's N200m Swindle
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Leadership (Abuja)
EDITORIAL
7 May 2008
Posted to the web 7 May 2008
Abuja
Any doubt about the true mission of many Nigerian politicians in public office has been erased by Governor Danjuma Goje of Gombe State: he recently paid himself a whopping N200 million as gratuities and accumulated pensions since after his first tenure as governor. By paying himself so much for doing so little, the governor has assaulted the sensibilities of the people who put him in power. Hearts have been broken and workers demoralised in a poor state still struggling to pay its pensioners many of whom would eventually be paid less than N50, 000. How could he have deserved N200 million as pension anyway when most civil servants who served for 35 years or longer receive or are owed peanuts?
Goje has proven that he sought the office, not to serve his people as he claimed but to fill his pockets. We consider his N200 million as the proceeds of a crime against the state and its peoples. It must be returned to the public treasury. Anti-graft agencies like the EFCC and ICPC should get ready with their charges; he should be compelled to give account of this and other fraudulent acts immediately he loses his immunity on May 29, 2011.
Thats is sad! But why waiting till 2011 ! What kind of immunity keep criminals in the office! The rule of law as in democracy , as in America; grant no exceptions for criminals to keep office till the end of term. In the USA, there is usually house hearing and Police hearing if found wanting, the person step down from the office. If the inidividual confess wrong doing, he is granted pardon and cannot not hold public office and plan out how to return the money. If he deny any wrong doing , then he goes to jail.
Hello Nigerians, This unfortunate incident has reveald yet again the true meaning of democracy and accountability in the Nigerian context. Lets face the fact, the governor is trying to recoup all the moneys he and his cohorts spent during the electioneering campain. Who is this governor accountable to? The predominant ly poor illiterate electorate, who does not have access to a lot of information about what is going on in the world of politics. There is no freedom of information in Nigeria... [Read Full Text]
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