The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Wednesday kicked against calls for the removal of security votes, insisting that doing so would be inimical to development.
NGF Chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said in Abuja that the abolition of security votes as being advocated by many in the country would breed chaos in the polity instead of curbing corruption as is being widely believed.
He said there was no development without security.
The position of the governors came just as Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, advocated parameters for appropriating and accounting for security votes without jeopardising national security.
The NGF chairman was addressing discussants in Abuja at the quarterly policy dialogue on accountability for security votes, organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN).
Fayemi’s topic for the keynote address was “Security Votes: Are they necessary? Are they legitimate?”
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In his address, which was laced with quotes from various authorities and sources, including books written by such First Republic icons as Chief Jerome Udoji, he said security votes had existed even before the military came to power in Nigeria.
He said doing away with them, instead of addressing corruption, would hinder development and security.
According to him, the answer to the question as to whether security votes are necessary is an emphatic “Yes” and buttressed his arguments with copious anecdotes from the United States Congress, several publications and examples.
The Ekiti governor said the abolition of security votes would slow down development, increase insecurity and impair the various states’ response to emergencies.
Fayemi argued against those who said security votes were illegal, quoting from the constitution and other relevant authorities to emphasise the fact that security votes are not only legal but have been in existence since the colonial era.