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By Joel Anekwe
Stakeholders on Friday called for abolition of security votes from the Nigerian government structure, arguing that associated corruption fuels increased insecurity, with increasing funding by government.
They called for relentless advocacy to end secrecy in defense and security spending in Nigeria.
The stakeholders made of predominantly civil society organizations, CSOs, media and government participants adopted radical approach to changing the narrative of opaqueness in security spending after being exposed to overwhelming cases of unaccounted funds at the zonal launch in Port Harcourt, of the “Camouflaged Cash – How Security Votes Fuel Corruption in Nigeria.”
The report, a product of investigations by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) in collaboration with Transparency International (TI) and the United Kingdom Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, indicated that unaccounted security cash expenditure adds up to over $670 million (N241.2 billion) annually in Nigeria.
Salaudeen Hashim, Programme Manager, Defense and Security, CISLAC, said at the event that, “The need to force transparency into the system is compelled by the fact the country is currently pervaded with insecurity all over and it is high time we began to find lasting solution to the current challenges.
“You notice that the more money we introduce into security spending the higher the level of insecurity being experienced? So how do we begin to find alternative solutions? How do we demand accountability around defense sector spending, reduce the secrecy and motivate citizen participation in monitoring?”
Among recommendations highlighted in the report and reemphasized at the Port Harcourt gathering, it was demanded that security votes be outlawed, defense budget be subjected to independent audit and civil society and media should interrogate the system and key actors to deter the evil of defense and security budget corruption.
