News
Despite LG autonomy, Nigerian governor spends millions on vehicles for council officials
Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has spent millions of naira to purchase brand new SUVs for chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the state’s local government councils despite the July 2024 Supreme Court judgement affirming the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 local governments.
On 13 November, Mr Otu, represented by the Deputy Governor of Cross River, Peter Odey, presented Coolray SUVs to 18 vice-chairpersons at the Government House Calabar.
Mr Odey was assisted by the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Emmanuel Ironbar.
A spokesperson to Governor Otu, Nsa Gill, in a press statement on 14 November, said the SUVs were meant to enhance productivity and efficiency at the local councils.
The statement said the Vice-Chairperson of the Obubra Local Government Council, Leonard Ogwa, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, “expressed gratitude” to Mr Otu for the vehicles.
Mr Ogwa said the vehicles would “enhance the smooth and efficient operation of their offices”.
The statement quoted Mr Ogwa as assuring them they would work alongside their council chairpersons to “build on the governor’s achievements.”
Cost of SUVs
According to information available on the Internet, the retail price for a Coolray SUV is between N14,700,000 (Coolray SUV – Dynamic Plus), N13,900,000 (Coolray SUV – Dynamic) and N16,900,000 (Coolray SUV – Sport Plus).
At a unit price of N16,900,000, 18 Coolray SUV—Sport Plus would cost N304,200,000, but the Cross River State Government must have spent much more than that if that is the exact brand it bought for the officials. This is because of the characteristic opaque nature of government procurement processes in Nigeria, which makes them susceptible to prices of goods and services being inflated.
According to the statement, Governor Otu had earlier presented Ford SUVs to the chairpersons of the 18 local councils.
The governor may have spent at least a billion naira to purchase the vehicles for the council chairpersons and vice-chairpersons.
Where did the money come from?
PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Otu’s spokesperson why the governor should give out vehicles to officials of local councils when the councils are expected to enjoy financial autonomy.
“The autonomy is still there, and the governor abides by the judgement of the Supreme Court, but you also know that even the (Nigerian) constitution also gives power to the House of Assembly to make laws for the administration of the local governments,” Mr Gill responded.
He said the governor’s giving out vehicles to the officials of the local councils does not diminish the regional government’s autonomy.
PREMIUM TIMES also asked Mr Gill where the money for purchasing the vehicles came from.
“You know, for sometimes, there was a joint account (between the state government and the local councils) operation, and there were some reserve funds, so to say, in the joint account.
“I can’t say that the fund came from there, but I know they may have come from there as well,” he responded.
Mr Gill, however, said Governor Otu will not operate the joint account.
He said there is some kind of partnership between the local and state governments to develop Cross River.
Our reporter asked Mr Gill about the possibility that vehicles for local officials may not have been a priority need of the councils.
“First, the chief executives of the councils need to be mobile. The departments in the councils will also need vehicles. And those vehicles (needed by the departments) will be bought directly by the councils,” he responded.
Background
Before the landmark Supreme Court judgement, local councils and their officials existed at the mercy of the governors of their respective states.
Many governors deliberately refused to conduct local elections for several years. They were comfortable appointing their allies to run the affairs of the councils and dictating to them how to use the councils’ funds.
In some cases, the governor arbitrarily dissolved the leadership of some councils and handpicked a new set of officials.
With the Supreme Court judgement, the joint account has been abolished. The Accountant General of the Federation has been mandated to pay funds that belong to the local government directly into a council’s bank account.
The Supreme Court also declared setting up a caretaker committee to run local councils illegal.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 24.23% in March 2025, according to the official government data source, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The rise in the country’s inflation rate, from 23.18% back in February 2025 to 24.23% in March 2025, reflected a major increase in the rising commodity and energy costs in the last few weeks.
According to the March 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report which measures the inflation rate released by the government agency on Tuesday, the country’s food inflation rate was 21.79% year-on-year in March 2025.
The food inflation rate, however, showed a decrease compared to the food inflation rate of 23.51% recorded in February 2025.
Economists had predicted that the country’s inflation rate which decreased minimally in February would rise when the Dangote Refinery and the state-run NNPCL got entangled in a petrol price war that culminated in the temporary termination of a naira-for crude agreement between the two oil companies and the subsequent increase in the pump price of petrol.
Some observers had also said the minimal reduction in the prices of food commodities experienced earlier in February was not sustainable, attributing the temporary decline in the prices of food to the importation intervention of the Federal Government.
Food and commodity inflation have skyrocketed as Nigerians battle what can pass for the worst cost of living crisis since the country’s independence over six decades ago, a development that economic wizards have attributed to President Bola Tinubu’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of the forex rates.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has apologised to the people of Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) for the failure of government and security agencies to protect lives and properties.
Fifty-one persons were gunned down early Monday in the Zikke community of the LGA, with houses razed and many displaced about two weeks after a similar attack led to the killing of scores of persons in Bokkos Local Government Area.
Less than two days after the most recent assault, Governor Mutfwang apologised for the government’s inability to protect the people.
Fifty-one persons were gunned down early Monday in the Zikke community of the LGA, with houses razed and many displaced about two weeks after a similar attack led to the killing of scores of persons in Bokkos Local Government Area.
Less than two days after the most recent assault, Governor Mutfwang apologised for the government’s inability to protect the people.
The governor said this on Tuesday at the palace of the Paramount Ruler in Miango.
“I will tell you the truth: I have been crying since yesterday because I had trusted God that all the arrangements were put in place, that this will not happen again. We have made investments in security,” he said.
But like all human arrangements, sometimes they fail. I want to admit that on Sunday night into Monday morning, we failed you. Please, forgive me.”
He urged the people not to relent in their efforts to secure their communities and ensure that they complement security agencies’ efforts by providing vital information for intelligence gathering and expose the antics of the criminals.
Governor Mutfwang, in the company of security chiefs and members of the state executive council, was in Zikke community to commiserate with the people on the death of over fifty persons killed in Monday’s attacks.
The Paramount Ruler of Irigwe land, Ronku Aka, who is the Brangwe of Irigwe, urged the government to come to the aid of the communities with the provision of social amenities in the area.
The governor and the entourage also went to see some of the families who lost their loved ones in the attack. The victims have been buried just as members of the community demanded action to stem the rising wave of insecurity in the state.
Plateau State has been a hotbed of attacks, but the renewed spate of attacks adds a fresh layer of twist to the decades-long crisis rocking the North-Central state.
After the most recent assaults, President Bola Tinubu ordered security agencies to fish out the masterminds, describing the attacks as condemnable.
While experts have linked the lingering Plateau crisis to farmers-herders tussle for resources, Governor Muftwang said it was sponsored and genocidal.
According to him, over 64 communities in the state have been taken over by gunmen.
-
News12 hours agoSHOCKING! One month after giving birth, woman discovers another baby in her womb
-
News12 hours agoTears, anguish as Plateau Community buries 51 killed by bandits
-
News10 hours agoCBEX: 60 fraudulent Ponzi scheme operators to avoid in Nigeria
-
News12 hours agoAngry investors raid CBEX office, loot assets in Ibadan after digital Platform crash
-
News18 hours agoPeter Obi speaks as Benue govt. blocks humanitarian visit
-
News18 hours agoFUOYE VC suspended over sexual harassment allegations
-
Politics12 hours agoIgbo Youths Set To Mobilize 5 Million Man-March In Support Of Tinubu, Kalu
-
News12 hours ago‘Not something I’d wish on anyone’ — Melinda Gates opens up on divorce