The Nigerian case is in sharp contrast to the UK response; for example, there is no attempt to curtail the heavy overheads and operational expenses of government at any level. Indeed, quarterly allowances for members of the House of Reps are being considered for upward review from N27.2m per quarter to N42m (see ThisDay, 24/5/2010, pg 1 – re: Jumbo Pay) Abuja Airport Road is being ‘expanded’ with over N250bn, while the airport runway itself will be upgraded with almost N50bn after a downward review from about N60bn. Meanwhile, education and health enjoy less budget allocations than the Abuja runway and Airport Road!

CHAIRMAN of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, Prof. Assisi Asobie, said, yesterday, that the agency has begun a comprehensive audit of the Federation Account, to determine the impact of its management on the lives of Nigerians.

“To meet the new demand, they will need N15.1billion as against the current N10. 044 billion,” replied Mark.
“So we’ve got all this money in Nigeria and yet our roads are bad, the power situation is getting worse, industries are shutting down, the unemployment market is swelling, our pensioners are not finding it easy, neither are the workers; yet our so-called representatives are there representing their pockets,” noted Ugo, visibly angry.

Worried by the total absence of social amenities in their communities, the people of Yala Local Government Area in Cross River State, have called on their political leaders to step aside for a new breed of leaders for effective representation.

Students and teachers were not left out as many of them usually trekked several kilometres to get to school. The good news is that this unfortunate situation is now a thing of the past following a recent philanthropic intervention that has transformed the community.