His Excellency the Sole Signatory!

Addressing the French parliament the King was fighting to retain the privileges of the monarchy being eroded with the growth of democracy. What Louis XIV meant was that he was an absolute ruler and expected to control France without anyone’s help. He believed the State only existed through his presence and he had the right […]

Addressing the French parliament the King was fighting to retain the privileges of the monarchy being eroded with the growth of democracy. What Louis XIV meant was that he was an absolute ruler and expected to control France without anyone’s help. He believed the State only existed through his presence and he had the right to control the entire mechanism of government. He didn’t expect to share the power to govern with anyone else so the separation of powers into what we now call the executive, legislative and judicial functions didn’t exist.
All powers were all vested in him, his word was law, and he could send people to jail without trail, or take decisions on matters as weighty as declaration of war or levels of taxation all by himself. He had nothing but contempt for the Constitution which he saw as just a piece of paper. In effect everything began and ended with him. He could not read the mood for change and less than two generations later it was all over, the monarchy was overthrown, democracy was entrenched and the “divine right of Kings” consigned to the dustbin of history.
In the 1960s and early ‘70s African despots like Idi Amin Dada of Uganda and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire came to prominence believing just like Louis XIV that they were the embodiment of the state.  Ruling with horrific excesses they both came to an inglorious end, friendless, living in exile and abhorred by their people. Their miserable failure purportedly taught African leaders the lesson that modern nations are built and maintained by systems not individuals. It was supposedly the end our long tradition of kings and maximum rulers or vainglorious, self-righteous political leaders. Occasionally however news breaks which requires us to pause and reflect on whether governance in Nigeria is moving forwards or backwards.
 Recently His Excellency Nyesom Wike the newly sworn in governor of Rivers State declared himself the “sole signatory” of all government bank accounts in Rivers State, including local government accounts! Once again we are faced with a leader who ignores the Constitution and thinks he is the state! The reason given for this absurd action is that in his opinion the State Treasury has been looted. It’s surprising His Excellency would want to involve himself in handling Rivers State money again. On Monday 6th October 2008 Wike who was then Chief of Staff Government House Port Harcourt was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Their investigations revealed that he owned a property in Port Harcourt worth N150 million. According to reports he first agreed the building was his before changing his mind claiming that it was being built as “staff quarters” for the Rivers State Government.  Bank records obtained by the EFCC show that an individual named “Bright” (who Wike claimed was his aide while he was Chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government) made a single cash deposit of N100 million into Wike’s personal account at Zenith Bank. It’s on record that the EFCC subsequently charged Nyesom Wike with stealing approximately N4.7 billion, using state accounts domiciled at Zenith Bank.
 On Thursday October 9th 2008 within 72 hours of detention he was arraigned before Justice Abimbola Banjoko of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on a six-count charge of stealing, criminal breach of trust, abuse of office and embezzlement of public funds. The first count accused Wike of stealing N129 million, the second involved stealing N41.9 million, the third of stealing N100 million, while the sixth alleged that he pilfered N3.5 billion. Quite incredulously the charges against Wike revealed that N4.6 billion passed through his personal account at Zenith Bank. The EFCC also arrested the Branch Manager, Operations Manager, and Accountant of  Zenith Bank alleging that they violated the EFCC Act by accepting a cash deposit in excess of N100 million into Wike’s account. The EFCC alleged that Wike in connivance with Zenith Bank officials opened an account with the fictitious name “Harrison B. Princewill”. Although the account lacked required information such as passport photograph of the signatory and details of next of kin, it enjoyed such high daily cash inflows that within one month it was credited with N3.6 billion. Apparently as the money swelled, bank officials notified Wike that the account was being monitored and collaborated to change the account’s name to “Government House Account”.  Once Wike was charged to Court and obtained bail for the sum of N50 million, the case became one of a predictable string of adjournments and died the same sort of natural death as all EFCC cases against high profile individuals. The Constitution states clearly that the Accountant-General of a State is the chief accounting officer for the receipts and payments of the State Government. His Excellency Wike definitely knows this but doubtless is also aware that virtually all states have had problems with accountant generals covering up or abetting malfeasance. They represent the weak link in our public finance control systems. Not once in our history has a state’s accountant general or auditor general declared money missing or misappropriated.
Although clearly there is a lack of patriotism and professional integrity in appointees to these positions, it is “micro-managing” in the extreme for a governor to take over cheque signing. Bearing in mind his history with the EFCC it hardly seems wise or appropriate for His Excellency Nyesom Wike to dabble his hands into government money opening himself up to further allegations of financial impropriety.