Give me power to spend security votes like govs, Wike urges Lawmakers

Give me power to spend security votes like govs, Wike urges Lawmakers

Nyesom Wike, Minister of FCT, has urged the House of Representatives to give him the authority to spend cash at will under the contentious “security vote” plan.

Mr Wike, who appeared before the House Committee on FCT on Monday to defend his ministry’s N1.1 trillion budget, stated that he requires the security vote to combat the insecurity that is currently plaguing Nigeria’s capital city.

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The security vote is a contentious and corrupt mechanism utilized frequently by state governors to spend money indiscriminately and without accountability. Anti-corruption groups have long contended that the security vote has become a vehicle for siphoning monies.

“As a governor, my director of SSS can meet me and say ‘We need to carry out an operation this night’. We need N30 million to carry out that operation. I don’t need to meet the accountant, all I need to say is ‘go and take money there,” Mr Wike told the lawmakers.

Give me power to spend security votes like govs, Wike urges Lawmakers