As many Ebonyians battle with hunger, Governor Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru of Ebonyi State reportedly approved over N8.2billion for the purchase of luxury vehicles for himself and other government officials between January and September 2024.
According to Saharareporters, the purchase was done through the office of the Secretary to the State Government and tagged “Purchase of 20nos of official vehicles for the present administration.”
The vehicles according to the document published on the state’s website were bought for the sum of N8,226,137,500.00, though the approved budget by the Ebonyi State House of Assembly for that item was N1,000,000,000.
So an extra N7.2billion was posted by the government without budgetary allocation for the purchase of the cars.
The figures in the financial report, imply that the average cost of each car was N411million.
Spending without the approval of the State Assembly is extra budgetary and illegal in Nigeria.
Some relevant sections of the Nigerian Constitution (section 80-83) require “authorisation before expenditure”.
“Any expenditure made without legislative authorisation is unconstitutional, null and void. It clearly offends the rule of law because the authorising agent outside of the legislature is unknown to the law.”
By this development, the governor may have effectively combined executive and legislative powers, since the purchase of the vehicles has already been made.
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