EXCLUSIVE: Ebonyi Governor, Nwifuru Spends N8.2billion On 20 Vehicles For Self, Other Government Officials Without Budgetary Allocation

The Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, approved over N8.2billion for the purchase of luxury vehicles for himself and other government officials between January and September 2024, a copy of the state budget performance report obtained by SaharaReporters has revealed.

The report revealed that 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.

Earlier, SaharaReporters reported how the state without a zoo budgeted the sum of N3billion for “wildlife conservation” in the 2024 financial years.

A zoo is where animals are kept for entertainment, research or educational purposes.

Zoos are man-made habitats built to house wildlife.

It is however unclear how Ebonyi spent N1.1billion in nine months for wildlife conservation.

SaharaReporters on Monday also reported that Governor Nwifuru threatened to sack workers embarking on strike in the state over the non-payment of the new national minimum wage of N70,000 by his administration.

The governor had issued the threat in Abakaliki, the state capital when he gave a 72-hour ultimatum for the workers participating in the ongoing strike to return to work or be sacked and replaced. 

Nwifuru issued the ultimatum at his office in Abakaliki, in response to the one-week industrial action announced by the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Oguguo Egwu.

Comrade Egwu had stated on Sunday that the strike aligned with a November 8, 2024, directive from the national leadership of the NLC, urging state councils in non-compliant states to enforce the new minimum wage.

Expressing his displeasure over the strike, Governor Nwifuru clarified that the National Assembly approved a minimum wage, not a general salary increment. 

He had said, “The National Assembly did not pass a bill for salary increments but for a minimum wage. Neither did it specify a maximum wage payable to workers.” 

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