El-rufai: Most People Think Governors Are Thieves

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says many people
believe governors are corrupt and ineffective.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television
programme, he said being a governor is one of the most
difficult things in the world.
He also highlighted some of the challenges he faced when
he assumed office.
“We came into office at a very bad time in terms of
economic viability. We came in when oil prices were
crashing into the twenties and we had inherited
bureaucracies that were designed and structured around
$100 per barrel oil. We had inherited wages at that level as
well. And all of a sudden, there was this collapse and
Nigeria went into a recession,” he said.
“Governors are the most suspected elected officials.
Everyone thinks governors are just thieves and we are
wasting state resources, we are not doing anything.
Governors are assumed to be taking security votes. When
people hear security votes, they think it is a slush fund for
governors. So we have a very negative image out there.
“Meanwhile, we have one of the most difficult jobs in the
world. And we are subnational; our capacity to borrow is
limited. The federal government can print money. We
cannot.
“Other than Lagos, very few state governments have room
to do what they can do because apart from Lagos virtually
every state in Nigeria relies on Federation Account
transfers. And when they go down, you are in trouble.”
He spoke on the sidelines of the fifth edition of Kadinvest,
the state government’s investment forum.Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says many people
believe governors are corrupt and ineffective.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television
programme, he said being a governor is one of the most
difficult things in the world.
He also highlighted some of the challenges he faced when
he assumed office.
“We came into office at a very bad time in terms of
economic viability. We came in when oil prices were
crashing into the twenties and we had inherited
bureaucracies that were designed and structured around
$100 per barrel oil. We had inherited wages at that level as
well. And all of a sudden, there was this collapse and
Nigeria went into a recession,” he said.
“Governors are the most suspected elected officials.
Everyone thinks governors are just thieves and we are
wasting state resources, we are not doing anything.
Governors are assumed to be taking security votes. When
people hear security votes, they think it is a slush fund for
governors. So we have a very negative image out there.
“Meanwhile, we have one of the most difficult jobs in the
world. And we are subnational; our capacity to borrow is
limited. The federal government can print money. We
cannot.
“Other than Lagos, very few state governments have room
to do what they can do because apart from Lagos virtually
every state in Nigeria relies on Federation Account
transfers. And when they go down, you are in trouble.”
He spoke on the sidelines of the fifth edition of Kadinvest,
the state government’s investment forum.

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