Former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has explained that one of the most potent ways of getting governance right in Nigeria is for those in authority to prune the cost of governance, which he described as outrageous and not sustainable.
Obi was speaking yesterday to Senior Security Officers and other participants – Generals and their equivalent in other security agencies – at the ongoing Strategic Management and Policy Studies Course (SMPSC, 3) of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja.
Obi said he was able to reduce the budget of Governor’s Office from 30% of the total budget to four percent, thereby, saving more funds for education, health and other critical sectors.
He said: “Governance is driven by careful planning. When I became governor, we planned carefully, budgeted properly and looked inwards to bridge budgetary gaps, by weeding out things that were not necessary. One of the things we did was to close down numerous guest houses and lodges we had here and there.”
“As governor, for example, I closed our Abuja Lodge and gave it to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for their use. Because of that, though they were of tremendous assistance to us, they tripled what they were doing and commended Anambra State to other international organisations. At the end, what I lost in the luxury of use of the Lodge rebounded back to the good of the entire state”, Obi said.
Obi also recalled how he was able to reduce the cost of trips to Abuja by over 80%, by travelling with only those that were necessary, seeking security at the destinations, getting generous discount from Anambra people that own hotels in Abuja and by staying only for days that are necessary, “as such trips for me were not substitute for holidays.” Obi said he also stopped out-of-station allowances on trips within the South-East.
Obi further advised those in authority to embark on projects based on necessities and not for the mere pleasure of being counted as having done signature projects, that usually plunge states into debt. “ As governor, when president Olusegun Obasanjo was to pay a visit to Anambra State, rather than build over half a billion naira Presidential Guest House, I had to vacate my lodge and stayed in a hotel that cost the State only N120,000.”
Obi also noted that one of the causes of wastages in governance is allowing transaction to define the leaders’ activities. “ I saw this in action in government, which made me to allocate resources directly to the end users, thereby cutting off many toll gates in going through the established channels.”