The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has appealed to the House of Representatives to allocate funds under the controversial “security vote” scheme at his discretion.
Speaking before the House Committee on FCT to defend his ministry’s budget of N1.1 trillion, Wike emphasized the necessity of the security vote in combating the prevalent insecurity in the Nigerian capital.
The security vote, notorious for its lack of transparency and susceptibility to corruption, has often been exploited by state governors for arbitrary spending.
Critics, including anti-corruption activists, have consistently argued that the security vote serves as a conduit for the misappropriation of funds.
“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.
