As the eighth National Assembly settles down to work, Nigerians list issues they want the lawmakers to deliberate on. Correspondent SAM NWOKORO reports.
Nigerians expect the eighth National Assembly (NASS) to stop the politics of self interest since President Muhammadu Buhari, leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), says he is ready to work with anyone the NASS chooses as its head.
Nigerians expected Buhari to hit the ground running immediately he was sworn in. But they have watched with dismay as the APC, which controls both the Upper and Lower Chambers of the NASS, engages in rancour over principal officers, hampering Buhari’s determination to get things done quickly.
A recent editorial in the Sun reiterated that “the Constitution did not assign any political party any role whatsoever in the election of the principal officers of the NASS.
“Nigerians have been looking forward to a National Assembly that can truly conduct oversight functions over our public institutions and be at the forefront of the battle against corruption in the country.
“The remuneration of its officers should not be state secret or outside the reality of the Nigerian economy. It should compare favourably with those of legislators in other countries.”
Review of emoluments
The size of the emoluments of public officers generates revulsion. Many have called for a review. Leakages in the system and the sleaze in the public sector make government purse inadequate to fast-track development that would improve living conditions.
Recently, a group of eminent Nigerians under the aegis of Global Leadership Forum recommended the slashing of the salary of legislators by about 70 per cent. They also collect sundry allowances, including for wardrobe and constituency, that increase the running expenses of the legislature.
Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has threatened to sue the government if it fails to reduce the emoluments of NASS members.
National conference report
The report of the national conference held last year has been commended for providing answers to many issues.
Learned opinion insists that all due process be followed in the adoption and implementation of the recommendations in the conference report, including amendment of the Constitution.
“To compensate for the non sovereign nature of the conference, I would like to identify four vital elements that we must keep in mind. They are inclusion, authority, validity, and legitimacy,” Agbakoba explained.
“By inclusion, every Nigerian must be allowed to speak his mind. By authority, we have to accept that the president and the NASS are the convening authority.
“By validity, the government has to accept that we the people shall validate the Constitution by referendum. By legitimacy, our discussions shall not be altered by the government, but shall be final and binding and validated by Nigerians.”
2015 budget
Another agenda the NASS has to tackle urgently is the 2015 budget submitted by the former government. Public disapproval of the budget is genuine. The amount allocated to the NASS is higher than that for education and every other department and agency; including defence, at a time of terrorism.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, reportedly confirmed recently that the budget of the NASS this year is N120 billion.
In reaction, Arthur Nzenwa, an economist and investment adviser, said: “NASS members should be patriotic enough to cut their bloated salary and have their sundry allowances reduced. That is the modicum of sacrifice Nigerians can accept.
“There are a lot of things to be done with money. A lot of government PPP agreements will have to be funded quickly so that project handlers do not vary contract sums and deny the nation the derivatives.
“Deliverability is the key to any publicly funded project. And given the quantum of projects initiated by the past government, there is little possibility that the government can meet up with its own funding remittances if the NASS maintains this huge emoluments for itself.
“Besides, many organised labour groups are clamouring for other things. But fundamentally, I think the easiest way of addressing this issue is to quickly look into the recommendations of the national conference.
“I think what is recommended in that document is part-time legislature and sitting allowance.”
Nzenwa warned that volatility in the price of oil may get worse in the years ahead as countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, and Ghana may join the club of oil producers.
Probes without result
Non disclosure and inconclusive probes have been a problem, right from the military era. From high profile scams to air crashes, bribery and corruption, the government has never come short of initiating probe panels.
But the public hardly gets to know anything about the implementation of probe panel reports.
When the government shields certain people considered as sacred cows from punishment when they break the law, it provides impetus for everyone else to break the law.
The NASS should complete all pending probes in its ranks, including allegations of fuel subsidy bribery involving former and current lawmakers.
The immigration recruitment tragedy of 2014 and the looting of police pension funds are part of the issues that blight the integrity of the nation, for which citizens are demanding the probe and punishment of the culprits.
Political restructuring
Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) leader, Ganiyu Adams, has argued that “one of the legacies the eighth NASS should bequeath to Nigerians is to follow up on the report of the recently held national conference from where the erstwhile Goodluck Jonathan government stopped.”
Adams said the structure of Nigeria does not encourage development.
Groups such as the Lower Niger Peoples Forum and the Middle Belt Forum have also made it clear that they are not satisfied with the political structure of the country.
Strengthening institutions
One of the major campaign sound bites of the APC was that public institutions under the Jonathan administration were weak, and encouraged sharp practices which undermined development policies.
The NASS is expected to produce more legislation to strengthen public institutions, especially law enforcement agencies, ministries, and departments.
A report on weak institutions in developing countries in 2013 noted that “good governance which is predictable, open and enlightened policy-making (that is transparent process), a bureaucracy imbued with professional ethos, an executive arm of government accountable for its actions and a strong civil society participating in public affairs and behaving under the rule of law was lacking in most countries of Africa.”
This leads to “corruption and wastage of resources, resulting in rising poverty level amid growing population.”
Democracies in Africa are urged to maintain “strong legislative oversight over the works of public institutions, for such is their primary responsibility.”
Whistle blower
Nigeria once attempted to make a law to encourage whistle blowing in government institutions to help the fight against crime. However, those who tried to advance the law in 1999 did not make adequate clauses to protect a whistle blower.
A security expert with Heagon Security, who gave his name simply as Chude, explained that there is “corruption in our country because the law is weak pertaining to the protection of whistle blowers.
“The NASS should make a law similar to the standard practice all over the world that anyone who gives information about fraud in his establishment, when proven, true should be promoted with his salary doubled.
“The World Bank ratifies that policy within its governing code and most African countries have domesticated that. But in Nigeria, the laws do not provide adequate protection or reward for whistle blowers.”
Corporate behaviour
Most foreign companies have been discovered to under declare their assets and other vital information to revenue collection agencies to avoid paying full tax. They also do not invest in value chains in the economy.
Nigerians want to see the NASS make laws compelling foreign companies operating in the country to invest in the values chains of their core operations.
Agbakoba warned that illegal practices by multinational companies are inimical to the economy and should be checked.
Related to this is the poor record of companies in executing corporate social responsibility (CSR) works in their host communities in spite of government waivers and bailouts.
Legislation is needed to encourage organisations to make impact through CSR works.
Electoral reform
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Attahiru Jega, has acknowledged the need for amendment to the Electoral Act, particularly regarding electoral offences.
In most parts of the world, it is an established practice that anyone with integrity problem is automatically disqualified to contest an election.
But in Nigeria, someone struggling to disentangle himself from crime allegation may contest an election. When he wins, he uses public funds to prosecute the case.
Nigerians expect the eighth NASS to make laws to stop this aberration if the country is serious about change.
PPP mode of operations
There is public apprehension about how most state governments execute private public partnership (PPP) deals entered into with foreign companies.
It is public knowledge that nearly all governors have shares in most of these companies. Thus public trust in the PPPs are not sufficiently protected.
Bertrand Ohaeri, a lawyer, argued that the 25 years’ period under which most PPP deals are signed constitutes a threat to national security and interests unless there are clauses for thorough evaluation and checks.
His words: “It is true that 25 years is international practice standard for PPP and concession agreements. However, it is not binding in law. Any sovereign nation has the right to negotiate international business deals based on terms she finds favourable.
“It is not compulsory that it must be 25 years because the domestic circumstances of nations are not the same.
“In our own case, care must be taken that national assets or people’s inheritance are not given away to some interest under PPP, or those who could not develop such assets but rather waste them.
“There have been instances of local firms who were given concession agreements which they messed up and only used to enrich themselves.
“If those concessions the Olusegun Obasanjo government did in 2004 and 2005 are superb solutions, why are the sectors still down?
“The solution is to carefully select organisations that are capable of deliverables within a timeframe, so that the government can derive benefits from its assets for the people, and not for political jobbers whose interest are just to acquire for an indeterminate future, without any plan to develop.”
Ohaeri asked the NASS to review the law to enable the renegotiation of existing concessions and protect concessionaires who develop assets and add value to the economy.