Recovering government property from past officials

Prompted by the new trend of anti-corruption war in the country, some states like the federal government have either recovered or declared intention to recover government property in custody of all public officers who are no longer in office. The Bauchi state governor, Alhaji Mohamed Abubakar, stated recently that his administration’s zero-tolerance for corruption has […]

Prompted by the new trend of anti-corruption war in the country, some states like the federal government have either recovered or declared intention to recover government property in custody of all public officers who are no longer in office.
The Bauchi state governor, Alhaji Mohamed Abubakar, stated recently that his administration’s zero-tolerance for corruption has yielded results with the recovery of 72 vehicles and 60 generators from officials of the past regime in the state. It would be recalled that Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar was the first governor in the new dispensation to set up a committee to recover government property filtered by officials of the immediate past regime.
In the effort to also recover government property from officials of the immediate past administration in Rivers state, the Lexus armoured vehicle in possession of the former spokesperson for the erstwhile administration of Governor Amaechi, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, was recovered by security operatives. Other government vehicles reportedly recovered by the Rivers State police command include one coaster bus; two Nissan Uvan buses; tow Higer vehicles; one land Cruiser; One Toyota Hilux Pick-up; on peugeot 607 saloon car and two peugeot 406 cars. The vehicles were recovered from Rumuokparali and Trans-Amadi in Obio/Akpor local government area of the state. The state governor, Chief Nyesom Wike had after assuming duty on May 29, 2015 vowed that public officers who criminally took possession of government property will be prosecuted.
Governor Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa has similarly constituted an eight-man committee chaired by Air Cdr Abubakar Sadik (rtd) to recover government property allegedly appropriated by political appointees during the administration of former governor Sule Lamido. The committee’s mandate includes tracing and recovering all property belonging to the state government such as vehicles, equipment, furniture and fittings.
In the same vein, President Muhammadu Buhari has indicated his resolve to recover all government property still in possession of some officials who served in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Government property to be recovered includes buildings, vehicles and generating sets. The President who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Mallam Garba Shehu noted that a committee made up of civil servants and security agencies has been set up to identify and recover the un-returned government assets by past political appointees.
It would be recalled that public officers and political appointees who were not due to return to office after the 2015 general elections reportedly looted government property including television sets, refrigerators, office and residential furniture. The carting away of government property is evidently the outcome of the deep-seated culture of impunity that in recent years permeated the public life of persons in positions of responsibility. There were media reports that some state governments disposed of their guest houses in Abuja at give-away prices.
State governors are fond of manipulating existing laws to suit their purposes. For example, a N30 million jeep was auctioned in one of the states and sold to the political appointee at N3 million with a 70 percent waiver when the vehicle had been driven for only 3 months. The practice of purchasing vehicles for ad-hoc committees which assignment does not go beyond 4 weeks is condemnable. Conference Visitors Unit (CVU) vehicles should serve the purposes of all ad-hoc committees. The concept of CVU vehicles should be revived as it forestalls wastages and saves cost.
We recommend the enactment of a law that will provide for the parking of all official vehicles after official working hours at government offices. Except for vehicles on essential services, government vehicles should not be seen on roads at odd hours. It becomes absurd especially when government vehicles are used as if such were commercial means of transportation.
All government ministries, departments and agencies must ensure that government property is properly documented with an up-to-date inventory kept. The audit of government property should be a continuous exercise. This will allow for illegally appropriated property to be detected without necessarily waiting until the end of a public officer’s tenure.
While we encourage looters of government property to return same immediately, we strongly recommend that officers should be prosecuted according to law; to deter other potential lawbreakers.