They move about in expensive outfits, wield much
power and influence and access to them could open the door to
unimaginable rewards.
Although unelected and without any role in the constitution, they strut the landscape with large convoys, complete with a retinue of aides.
Mr. President, they are known as ‘first ladies.’ They are usually accompanied by officials on the payroll of the government, and they have unfettered access to state funds and property such as presidential jets, vehicles, buildings, furniture etc. and perks like overseas travel.
Mr. President, your wife, Patience, is the ‘chief culprit’ as she currently parades herself as the ‘First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’
At the state level, the wives of the governors take the lower step on the ladder, a function which is replicated at the level of the local governments.
Mr. President, you have promised to uphold the Rule of Law and respect the constitution as a cardinal principle.
Last week, you signed the Freedom of Information Act 2011, with a promise to ensure greater transparency in government activities.
With due respect, you very well know that the so called ‘Office of the First Lady’, which your wife occupies, has no place in the constitution or on the list of Federal Executive Bodies. It therefore stands to question where your wife derives the powers to issue statements and make pronouncements from an illegal office.
It also belies good reasoning that you would attach senior and junior government officials to such an office, even though you are well aware that this is in clear contravention of the constitution you swore to defend and obey.
There is a Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, staffed by a full complement of civil servants and headed by a minister. Generally, your wife’s public functions, as the so-called ‘First Lady’, amount to a duplication of the functions of this ministry.
Your wife has also represented Nigeria at high-level meetings around the country and overseas. It bears mentioning here that the outcomes of such interactions can be readily challenged in court as illegal and of no effect.
Mr. President, what then is the difference between this office and an illegal police checkpoint? In fact, the latter may even be excused a bit because it is set up by policemen employed by the State.
But the same cannot be said of a person in an office not known to law. This is a person serving in a government, in a capacity which is neither elective nor appointive.
The wives of some of your predecessors raised funds through their pet projects, which were neither remitted to the Federation Account nor were included in the annual reports of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.
Going through the 2010 Appropriation Act, I do not find the Office of the First Lady on the sub heads for capital or recurrent expenditure or debts.
I also cannot find any mention of the ‘Office of the First Lady’ in the breakdown of the budget for the Presidency, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs or Federal Ministry of Special Duties.
I can’t also find any mention of an allocation to the Office of the First Lady in the budget allocations to any other ministry.
Some have argued that the projects of first ladies and governors’ wives are non-governmental in nature. However, Nigerians would like to know who pays the special advisers, physicians, security and personal aides attached to your wife and the wives of governors.
At whose expense does your wife travel around the country and overseas?
Mr. President, this makes Nigerians worried about your avowed commitment to probity and transparency. I would be glad if you could publish the sources of financing of your wife’s activities as ‘First Lady’ since you succeeded the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
This would be a great achievement for your administration and would be in line with your decision to publish your assets in 2007.
Late last year, the wife of your deputy donated items worth millions of naira to flood victims in Sokoto State. Like many Nigerians, I would like to know where she got the money to procure such items and how they were delivered to the recipients.
On Wikipedia, your wife was said to have served as the ‘first lady’ of Bayelsa State when you were the governor. During the period, she was said to have founded many philanthropic and women empowerment programmes. At whose expense, I ask, Mr. President?
Your wife has even been mentioned as one of those playing an influential role in the contest to produce the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Sometime last year, a national newspaper reported that your wife accompanied you to the United Nations General Assembly with 23 aides. These included her steward, security aides, personal physician, protocol officers and four of her friends.
In March, an aircraft that conveyed her to Sokoto State for a visit to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, reportedly developed a fault. Another aircraft had to be flown from Abuja to Sokoto to pick her and members of her entourage.
Sir, these are some of the things that constitute a needless drain on the nation’s resources. It is also not in the nation’s interest for your wife to occupy an office that has no constitutional or legal backing.
Nigerians are not happy at the flamboyance displayed by your wife and other holders of such offices at the state and local government levels.
They are even given ample airtime on state-owned television and radio stations, at the expense of Nigerian taxpayers.
On the roads, their convoys also cause agonies for other road users.
We all recall how horrified people were at the extravagance displayed by the former first lady of the Phillipines, Imelda Marcos. Due to the absence of public records in Nigeria, it is difficult to know if the extravagance of our so-called first ladies is at par or has surpassed the record left by Imelda.
So, I urgently call on you to immediately ask your wife to stop parading herself as the ‘First Lady’. You should also withdraw all paraphernalia attached to this illegal office and direct your deputy’s wife and the wives of governors and their deputies and local government chairmen to do same.
If you feel a compelling need for such an office, it should be subjected to a public hearing by the National Assembly where Nigerians will offer their views on the desirability of such at a time of competing needs and scarce resources.
I know some of your aides may ask you to ignore my request but I can assure you that soon, Nigerians will demand scrutiny of the activities of your wife, in her capacity as the so-called ‘First Lady’, through the instrumentality of the FoI Act.
By Emeka Madunagu Courtesy Of: Punch
Although unelected and without any role in the constitution, they strut the landscape with large convoys, complete with a retinue of aides.
Mr. President, they are known as ‘first ladies.’ They are usually accompanied by officials on the payroll of the government, and they have unfettered access to state funds and property such as presidential jets, vehicles, buildings, furniture etc. and perks like overseas travel.
Mr. President, your wife, Patience, is the ‘chief culprit’ as she currently parades herself as the ‘First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’
At the state level, the wives of the governors take the lower step on the ladder, a function which is replicated at the level of the local governments.
Mr. President, you have promised to uphold the Rule of Law and respect the constitution as a cardinal principle.
Last week, you signed the Freedom of Information Act 2011, with a promise to ensure greater transparency in government activities.
With due respect, you very well know that the so called ‘Office of the First Lady’, which your wife occupies, has no place in the constitution or on the list of Federal Executive Bodies. It therefore stands to question where your wife derives the powers to issue statements and make pronouncements from an illegal office.
It also belies good reasoning that you would attach senior and junior government officials to such an office, even though you are well aware that this is in clear contravention of the constitution you swore to defend and obey.
There is a Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, staffed by a full complement of civil servants and headed by a minister. Generally, your wife’s public functions, as the so-called ‘First Lady’, amount to a duplication of the functions of this ministry.
Your wife has also represented Nigeria at high-level meetings around the country and overseas. It bears mentioning here that the outcomes of such interactions can be readily challenged in court as illegal and of no effect.
Mr. President, what then is the difference between this office and an illegal police checkpoint? In fact, the latter may even be excused a bit because it is set up by policemen employed by the State.
But the same cannot be said of a person in an office not known to law. This is a person serving in a government, in a capacity which is neither elective nor appointive.
The wives of some of your predecessors raised funds through their pet projects, which were neither remitted to the Federation Account nor were included in the annual reports of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.
Going through the 2010 Appropriation Act, I do not find the Office of the First Lady on the sub heads for capital or recurrent expenditure or debts.
I also cannot find any mention of the ‘Office of the First Lady’ in the breakdown of the budget for the Presidency, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs or Federal Ministry of Special Duties.
I can’t also find any mention of an allocation to the Office of the First Lady in the budget allocations to any other ministry.
Some have argued that the projects of first ladies and governors’ wives are non-governmental in nature. However, Nigerians would like to know who pays the special advisers, physicians, security and personal aides attached to your wife and the wives of governors.
At whose expense does your wife travel around the country and overseas?
Mr. President, this makes Nigerians worried about your avowed commitment to probity and transparency. I would be glad if you could publish the sources of financing of your wife’s activities as ‘First Lady’ since you succeeded the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
This would be a great achievement for your administration and would be in line with your decision to publish your assets in 2007.
Late last year, the wife of your deputy donated items worth millions of naira to flood victims in Sokoto State. Like many Nigerians, I would like to know where she got the money to procure such items and how they were delivered to the recipients.
On Wikipedia, your wife was said to have served as the ‘first lady’ of Bayelsa State when you were the governor. During the period, she was said to have founded many philanthropic and women empowerment programmes. At whose expense, I ask, Mr. President?
Your wife has even been mentioned as one of those playing an influential role in the contest to produce the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Sometime last year, a national newspaper reported that your wife accompanied you to the United Nations General Assembly with 23 aides. These included her steward, security aides, personal physician, protocol officers and four of her friends.
In March, an aircraft that conveyed her to Sokoto State for a visit to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, reportedly developed a fault. Another aircraft had to be flown from Abuja to Sokoto to pick her and members of her entourage.
Sir, these are some of the things that constitute a needless drain on the nation’s resources. It is also not in the nation’s interest for your wife to occupy an office that has no constitutional or legal backing.
Nigerians are not happy at the flamboyance displayed by your wife and other holders of such offices at the state and local government levels.
They are even given ample airtime on state-owned television and radio stations, at the expense of Nigerian taxpayers.
On the roads, their convoys also cause agonies for other road users.
We all recall how horrified people were at the extravagance displayed by the former first lady of the Phillipines, Imelda Marcos. Due to the absence of public records in Nigeria, it is difficult to know if the extravagance of our so-called first ladies is at par or has surpassed the record left by Imelda.
So, I urgently call on you to immediately ask your wife to stop parading herself as the ‘First Lady’. You should also withdraw all paraphernalia attached to this illegal office and direct your deputy’s wife and the wives of governors and their deputies and local government chairmen to do same.
If you feel a compelling need for such an office, it should be subjected to a public hearing by the National Assembly where Nigerians will offer their views on the desirability of such at a time of competing needs and scarce resources.
I know some of your aides may ask you to ignore my request but I can assure you that soon, Nigerians will demand scrutiny of the activities of your wife, in her capacity as the so-called ‘First Lady’, through the instrumentality of the FoI Act.
By Emeka Madunagu Courtesy Of: Punch
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