Adamawa local government chairmen face backlash after sponsoring their wives to Turkey for a leadership programme, drawing accusations of wasteful spending amid financial autonomy for councils.
Public outrage has trailed the decision of local government chairmen in Adamawa State to sponsor their wives to Istanbul, Turkey, for a leadership training programme. The wives, joined by senior officials from the ministry of local government, reportedly departed last week for the trip. Suleiman Toungo, chairman of Toungo LGA and head of the state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), defended the initiative, saying, “We did our training two months ago, so I do not see anything wrong with our wives going for training outside the country. They are our wives and we need their advice. We are looking at the importance of training them on leadership, not the cost.”
Critics on social media condemned the trip as a misuse of public funds, noting Adamawa’s poverty rate and the recent Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to local governments. Commenters described the exercise as a “thinly veiled vacation” and a “joke” while pensioners and staff remain unpaid.