Lagos based lawyer and human rights activist, Festus
Keyamo has alleged that state governors are
using state funds to pay the legal bills arising
from their cases in courts.This he said amounts to
stealing state funds.Keyamo has thus called on the
governors to refund such funds and desist forthwith
from the practice as he is prepared to come up with
petitions against any governor found to have dipped
his hands into the public till.Read the full text of
Keyamo's statement below:
``I have keenly
followed the practice in many States of the
Federation where my colleagues submit huge legal
bills to State Governments over election petition
matters that they handle for either the State
Governor or for party members whose elections are
either challenged or when they challenge the
election of opponents at tribunals. In many
instances the State Governors have approved bills
and dipped their hands in the pubic treasury to pay
these legal bills.
``This practice is
nothing but an act of stealing from the public
treasury. When a candidate is returned as Governor
at an election and his victory is challenged, he
defends that election petition as a candidate of his
political party and not in his official capacity as
Governor. Afterall that is why he is no (sic)
covered by the immunity clause in the Constitution
in defending that election petition.
``As a result, it
behoves the political party who sponsored the
candidate to pick up the bills of the Petition at
the tribunal and not the State Government. It is
illogical to use the funds of the State to defend
such cases when your opponent is challenging your
right in the first place to preside over such funds.
``Any state
Governor who has done so should refund such monies
to the coffers of the State Government. If any such
case comes to my attention, I will petition the
law-enforcement agencies to retrieve such funds.
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