Are we back to a government of squandermania of the 1980's Shagari era?

Exhibit 1. The Government of President Jonathan Goodluck yesterday approved lots of contracts, the biggest of which was the purchase of three new jets for the Presidential Air Fleet. The planes include a Gulfstream G550 and two new Falcon 7X Aircraft. These will cost the country $154.3 million or N23.2 billion.

Interestingly the decision to purchase three new presidential jets came the same day it was reported that Africa’s most populous nation would have to borrow money to fund elections in less than six months.

The presidential fleet currently boasts of eight aircraft - including three jets. It consists of a 70-tonne Boeing business jet bought in 2006 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In addition, there are the Gulfstream V, and Gulfstream IVSP, and two Falcon 900s.

The Federal Government had proposed to buy four more aircraft for the presidential fleet, according to the 2010 Appropriation Bill recently passed by the National Assembly.

The expenditure item, which came under the “Intelligence Community” budget, listed the cost of purchasing “4 Nos Presidential Air Craft” at $210 million, which is about N31.5 billion, although only N23.4 billion is to be provided for it in this fiscal year.

Exhibit 2: "Not too long ago, the INEC under Iwu (Prof. Maurice Iwu) requested a paltry sum of N3 billion. Nigerians cried wolf and threatened to sue Iwu. Now, Professor Atahiru Jega is jumping the figure to N72 billion. Finally, N87.72 billion was approved for Jega.

Interestingly, Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Maurice Iwu, has said the 33,000 units of Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines the commission bought under him are still in perfect form. His revelation potentially raises questions on why his successor, Attahiru Jega wants brand new 120,000 such machines to produce a new voter register ahead of 2011 ballot.

Jega, former university vice chancellor appointed INEC boss in June, requests for a whopping N74billion to bring forth a wholesale credible register, which he and most Nigerians say ranks highest among the requisites for guaranteeing credible poll next year. The Senate has to cut short its vacation to approve the urgent request.

But Iwu told Sunday Independent in a telephone interview that the commission currently has 33,000 working DDC, all of them high-quality laptop computers and spread across the 774 local government areas where INEC staff are domiciled.

Exhibit 3: The Presidential Task Force on Power recently set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to give Nigerians electricity within one year has budgeted N835, 888,830 million just for blackberry phones, phone lines and internet subscriptions, catering/ guest house expenses, international and local trips, sitting allowances, and expensive vehicles, among others frivolities for its members and support staff of 73 people.

Exhibit 4: As Nigerians cry out that the Federal Government has budgeted N17 Billion for the Nigeria@50 celebrations, it has also emerged that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), approved the sum of N250million for the production of compendiums for the Nigeria at 50 celebrations. The approved compendiums will come in form of 20,000 copies of 800page publications and 5,000 CD ROMs.
Nigerians should carefully monitor President Jonathan Goodluck. Few years after repaying huge foreign debts, Nigeria’s external loan is to reach $9.4 billion based on a proposed 2010 borrowing plan of the federal government.

In a letter to the National Assembly dated August 4, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan is requesting the legislature to approve external borrowing of $5.242 billion in addition to the present $4.2 billion foreign debt owed by the country.

I have the feeling that by the time Goodluck Jonathan finishes with Nigeria, not only will the treasury be empty, we will be at the pre-1999 level of debt.