The 36 State governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration must emulate the Federal Government in cutting cost of governance, the Chairman, Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr. Muhammad Shehu Bello, has said.
Bello said the recent directive by President Bola Tinubu to Ministers and Chief Executives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies to reduce their size of official convoys as part of measures to cut down on their high cost cutting measures was worthy of emulation.
He said if states adopt the policy of cutting down on the number of vehicles used by their officials, it would go a long way in reducing the high cost of governance, which has partly been responsible for the inadequate resources available to provide infrastructure and social services, but also overall investment, high level unemployment, and rising insecurity in the country.
He noted that no society can make meaningful progress unless it develops a competent and cost-effective management system capable of maximizing its resources to the benefit of all citizens.
Over the years, he said the Commission had not only advocated a reduction in the cost of governance as a way of preserving scarce resources for the sustainable development of the country, but also proffered suggestions and recommendations to government at all levels on the need to scale down on unnecessary expenditures, and monitor expenses on developmental projects that would impact positively on the lives of the citizenry.
Dr. Shehu attributed the high cost of governance in the country to expensive nature of large bureaucracy, duplication of government MDAs, and endemic corruption.
“Other factors responsible for the high cost governance included the high cost of public service delivery due to infrastructure failure, high security costs as a result of insurgencies, kidnappings, ethnoreligious agitations, armed robbery, multiple salaries and severance allowances, extravagant activities and expenditures, high domestic and foreign debts, as well as weak enforcement institutions,” the Chairman said.
The Commission described the impact of high cost of governance in the country over the years as alarming and unsustainable, adding that it would continued to generate public concern and discourse due to its negative implications on investment, industrial expansion, infrastructure development, and the growth of the real sectors of the economy.
“The realization that all three arms of government are involved is even more disturbing.The Commission has at different fora made its position known on this matter through paper presentations. It is evident that Nigeria’s cost of governance is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has significantly hindered the government’s ability to fulfill its primary responsibilities, such as infrastructural development, providing quality healthcare, improving educational standards, etc.”
To effectively reduce the overbearing high cost of governance in the country, the Commission recommended the immediate implementation of the Orosanye report as earlier intended by the administration; a reduction in the number of political appointees as recommended in RMAFC’s remuneration package for Political & Public Office Holders; and ensuring prudent spending of government funds at all levels.