A former vice president of Nigerian Political Science Association, Professor Sani Fage, has criticised the aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party, also known as G-5 governors, for their frequent trips to foreign countries to hold meetings.
Fage, who is a Professor of Political Science, said it would amount to abuse of office and betrayal of public trust if the money used for their current trips for political meeting was from their various state coffers.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Fage stated that such funds should have been channelled towards the development of their states.
He said, “This is simply wasting of state resources on political jamboree and it’s wrong. They (G-5 governors) are trying to pursue their own personal interest and in doing this, they use the state resources at their disposal.
“This is a betrayal of trust that the public entrusted to them; it’s an abuse of office. This is an issue that will not augur well for the system. When you create such conflictual situations, you are overheating the polity unnecessarily.
“Even though they want to pursue their own personal interest, they can settle amicably and not to hop into a plane and fly overseas for meetings. They are wasting resources.”
He stated that the governors, in their bid to serve personal interest in becoming politically relevant after their tenure, are not considering the implications that such will have on their state.
Fage, however, called on the anti-graft agencies to beam their searchlight on the G-5 governors and investigate them after their term in office.
“Yes, People should be made accountable even after their office, especially giving the loophole or the lacuna that the constitution has, which put in place executive immunity. But after they are out of office, they should be investigated to establish whether somebody has actually wasted the state resources or has abused his office.
“Except they are not using state resources, but if they are, then surely, there are consequences and people may not see the consequences in a short time. Those expenditures may cost the states the resources that should have been used for development.
“The way they are bringing personal issues into office is something that will not help the system because what they are trying to do now is to make sure that they remain politically relevant.
“That is why they keep on moving from one place to the other so that some other parties can buy them over and when they are out of office, they will still be relevant politically. It is either they get an appointment or they place their own people up for appointment so that they will be the one calling the shot for a long time.”