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courage is contagious
Viewing cable 10LAGOS5, THE "PEOPLE'S GOVERNOR" SETS AN EXAMPLE IN
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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
10LAGOS5 | 2010-01-05 13:31 | 2011-08-30 01:44 | CONFIDENTIAL | Consulate Lagos |
VZCZCXRO2171
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0005/01 0051331
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 051331Z JAN 10 ZDK
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1155
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0704
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LAGOS 000005
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2029
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KDEM PINR ELAB NI
SUBJECT: THE "PEOPLE'S GOVERNOR" SETS AN EXAMPLE IN
NIGERIA'S EDO STATE
REF: A. 08 LAGOS 477
¶B. 08 LAGOS 514
¶C. LAGOS 227
¶D. LAGOS 285
LAGOS 00000005 001.2 OF 003
Classified By: Consul General Donna M. Blair for Reasons 1.4 (B,D)
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SUMMARY
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¶1. (C) Governor Adams Oshiomhole (Action Congress - AC) of
Edo State believes that because he was popularly elected he
must govern differently from those who owe their positions to
"Godfathers." Oshiomhole stressed to PolOff in Benin City on
December 7 that he remained free of the need to pay favors to
power-brokers, yet obliged to deliver on promises and
services because he was "hired" and can be "fired" by the
electorate. Oshiomhole has kept key election promises,
maintains a lively dialogue with the electorate and remains
popular. If the former labor leaders continues to deliver
responsive and responsible government in Edo, he could at a
future date capitalize on his popularity and national
following to become a credible opposition leader. END
SUMMARY.
---------------------------
FREE FROM FINANCIAL STRINGS
---------------------------
¶2. (C) Oshiomhole says that because he owes his election to
the electorate he does not have to pay back sponsors, show
favoritism to or bend the law for anyone. This freedom
enables him to increase revenues by enforcing the law
uniformly and save money that otherwise would have been spent
on patronage, for example, in the form of non-performing
contracts. He insisted that, unlike most of his
counterparts, he dose not interfere in rigorous tax
collection even from elites and adhers to a transparent
procurement process. Likewise, Oshiomhole stressed, no one is
exempt from environmental laws; so, properties owned by
powerful citizens and institutions, such as the Central Bank,
were impacted along with the shanties of the poor when his
government removed illegal structures that blocked roads and
drains. The governor also noted that he had redeployed
teachers impartially from superfluous administrative posts in
urban areas to rural schools lacking staff despite the
protests of many teachers.
-------------------------
FULFILLING RISKY PROMISES
-------------------------
¶3. (SBU) Oshiomhole is focused on fulfilling his promises to
the electorate. Oshiomhole promised to eliminate illegal
levies and extortion, to create 10,000 jobs, to fight
corruption, cut costs of the bureaucracy and invest in needed
infrastructure. Upon taking power, he instructed the police
to stop "area boys" from extracting illegal levies at
markets, parking lots, schools, and hospitals. Police
action, combined with widespread popular refusal to pay,
effectively ended this pernicious practice, at least in the
capital. More recently, Oshiomhole declared the examination
fee paid by students to sit for state exams illegal and
refunded 15 million naira (USD 100,000) already collected.
¶4. (SBU) To date, Oshiomhole's administration has created
nearly 7,000 public sector jobs, including 1,150 new teaching
positions, 1,700 sanitation jobs, 3,300 jobs in "rapid
response" road crews (to fill potholes, etc.), 437 biometric
and point-of-sales technicians, and 250 additional jobs in
the Board of Internal Revenue to bolster tax collection and
enforcement. In addition, an estimated 500 jobs have been
created in the private sector through contracts to waste
management firms and an as yet unquantified number of jobs
will be created in construction as contracts for
infrastructure projects are awarded. The new public service
jobs were filled predominantly from the ranks of the
unemployed, including 3,000 graduates; some of the new
employees had been unemployed for as long as twelve years.
¶5. (SBU) Despite increasing the payroll dramatically,
Oshiomhole has cut overall recurring state expenditures 45
LAGOS 00000005 002 OF 003
per cent by eliminating bureaucratic duplication, rigorously
reducing bureaucratic waste such as unnecessary travel and
expensive perks, improving efficiency, and impeding graft
with automation. Oshiomhole claims that his aim was "not to
spend two naira if one naira would achieve the same purpose."
The state was able to not only operate at lower cost but to
save 20 percent of its operating budget and release that
money for capital expenditure. (NOTE: We will report on
Oshiomhole's anti-corruption efforts and major fiscal
policies in septels. END NOTE.)
----------------------------------
GOOD GOVERNANCE MEANS GOOD SERVICE
----------------------------------
¶6. (SBU) Oshiomhole describes himself as a "steward" of the
people and calls it his duty to deliver good and transparent
government. He hired a team of experts predominantly from the
private sector (reftels) who have been tasked with
"painstaking planning" and developing a "holistic approach"
rather than "quick-fixes." He has put emphasis on substance
over show and quality over quantity. Rather than embarking
on mega-projects Oshiomhole has focused on stopping the
hemorrhaging of funds caused by corruption, laying the
groundwork for sustainable government by increasing
internally generated revenues to reduce dependence on federal
allocations, and sought creative solutions involving the
private sector to reduce the public burden. For example,
state authorities have allowed participating banks to use
taxes paid directly to the state's accounts for five working
days as an incentive to support the introduction of cash-free
tax payments and sold advertizing rights to finance the
generators and diesel used to run street-lighting.
------------------
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
------------------
¶7. (SBU) Key to Oshiomhole's success is his willingness to
lead by example. In contrast to his fellow governors,
Oshiomhole does not charter aircraft but books commercial
flights. He does not surround himself with a large entourage
and multiple cameramen but travels with only one or two
aides. He has not invested in his own Local Government Area
but has religiously followed the economic priorities laid out
by his economic advisory committee. He has not interfered in
the decisions taken by his commissioners to award contracts
in order to reward friends nor has he moved to exempt friends
or powerful elites from unpleasant legal or disciplinary
action.
-------------------------------------
POPULAR BUT SHUNS CULT OF PERSONALITY
-------------------------------------
¶8. (SBU) Oshiomhole remains immensely popular with the
people of his state, as a spontaneous "bath in the masses"
with PolOff on December 7 demonstrated. Oshiomhole took
PolOff to former dump cites in residential neighborhoods and
to the areas in the city where street-stalls had been
bulldozed to improve drainage, sanitation and traffic.
Although the visit was unannounced, people soon surrounded
the governor, calling out greetings, blessings and reaching
out for hand-shakes. Governor Oshiomhole approached market
women and motorcycle taxis to draw attention to traffic
violations, and spoke to residents at random. Despite -- or
because of -- his popularity, Oshiomhole does not run large
ads in the media praising his accomplishments as does, for
example, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio
(People's Democratic Party - PDP). When Oshiomhole's face
does appear on billboards, it is to admonish citizens to pay
their taxes.
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COMMENT
-------
¶9. (C) Even if Oshiomhole's supporters might exaggerate his
accomplishments or bend some statistics, there is no doubt
that he is a true star and represents the best of the
so-called new generation of Nigerian politicians. He has
implemented a commonsense agenda that should be a model for
other states, and as a former labor leader, he has a strong
LAGOS 00000005 003 OF 003
connection to the poor. Probably more than any other
southern governor, he is poised - especially as a member of
the opposition - to play a key role in national politics,
perhaps as early as 2015. END COMMENT.
¶10. (U) ConGen Lagos coordinated this cable with Embassy
Abuja.
BLAIR