Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo has written the National Assembly accusing the
lawmakers of corruption, impunity, greed and of repeatedly breaking the
nation’s laws.
Media report continues:
In
a letter dated January 13 and addressed to the President of the Senate, Bukola
Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the
former president specifically accused the lawmakers of fixing and earning
salaries and allowances far above what the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and
Fiscal Commission approved for them. He also alleged that most of the 109
senators and 369 members of the House of Representatives were receiving
constituency allowances without maintaining constituency offices as the laws
required of them.
Below
is Mr. Obasanjo’s letter:
January
13, 2016
Distinguished Senator
Bukola Saraki,President of the Senate,
Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Senate Chambers,
Abuja. Honourable Yakubu Dogara,
Speaker, House of Representatives,
National Assembly Complex,
Abuja.
It is appropriate to begin this letter,
which I am sending to all members of the Senate and the House of
Representatives through both of you at this auspicious and critical time, with
wishes of Happy New Year to you all.
On a few occasions in the past, both in
and out of office as the President of Nigeria, I have agonised on certain
issues within the arms of government at the national level and among the tiers
of government as well. Not least, I have reflected and expressed, outspokenly
at times, my views on the practice in the National Assembly which detracts from
distinguishness and honourability because it is shrouded in opaqueness and
absolute lack of transparency and could not be regarded as normal, good and
decent practice in a democracy that is supposed to be exemplary. I am, of
course, referring to the issue of budgets and finances of the National
Assembly.
The present economic situation that the
country has found itself in is the climax of the steady erosion of good
financial and economic management which grew from bad to worse in the last six
years or so. The executive and the legislative arms of government must accept
and share responsibility in this regard. And if there will be a redress of the
situation as early as possible, the two arms must also bear the responsibility
proportionally. The two arms ran the affairs of the country unmindful of the
rainy day. The rainy day is now here. It would not work that the two arms
should stand side by side with one arm pulling and without the support of the
other one for good and efficient management of the economy.
The purpose of election into the
Legislative Assembly particularly at the national level is to give service to
the nation and not for the personal service and interest of members at the
expense of the nation which seemed to have been the mentality, psychology,
mindset and practice within the National Assembly since the beginning of this
present democratic dispensation. Where is patriotism? Where is commitment?
Where is service?
The beginning of good governance which is
the responsibility of all arms and all the tiers of government is openness and
transparency. It does not matter what else we try to do, as long as one arm of
government shrouds its financial administration and management in opaqueness
and practices rife with corruption, only very little, if anything at all, can
be achieved in putting Nigeria on the path of sustainable and enduring
democratic system, development and progress. Governance without transparency
will be a mockery of democracy.
Let us be more direct and specific so that
action can be taken where it is urgently necessary. A situation where our
national budget was predicated on US$38 per barrel of oil with estimated 2
million barrels per day and before the budget was presented, the price of oil
had gone down to $34 per barrel and now hovering around US$30 and we have no
assurance of producing 2 million barrels and if we can, we have no assurance of
finding market for it, definitely calls for caution. If production and price
projected in the budget stand, we would have to borrow almost one third of the
6 trillion naira budget. Now beginning with the reality of the budget, there is
need for sober reflection and sacrifice with innovation at the level of
executive and legislative arms of government. The soberness, the sacrifice and
seriousness must be patient and apparent.
It must not be seen and said that those
who, as leaders, call for sacrifice from the citizenry are living in obscene
opulence. It will not only be insensitive but callously so. It would seem that
it is becoming a culture that election into the legislative arm of government
at the national level in particular is a licence for financial misconduct and
that should not be. The National Assembly now has a unique opportunity of
presenting a new image of itself. It will help to strengthen, deepen, widen and
sustain our democracy.
By our Constitution, the Revenue
Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission is charged with the
responsibility of fixing emoluments of the three arms of government: executive,
legislature and judiciary. The Commission did its job but by different
disingenuous ways and devices, the legislature had overturned the
recommendation of the Commission and hiked up for themselves that which they
are unwilling to spell out in detail, though they would want to defend it by
force of arm if necessary. What is that?
Mr. President of the Senate and Hon.
Speaker of the House, you know that your emolument which the Commission had
recommended for you takes care of all your legitimate requirements: basic
salary, car, housing, staff, constituency allowance. Although the constituency
allowance is paid to all members of the National Assembly, many of them have no
constituency offices which the allowance is partly meant to cater for. And yet
other allowances and payments have been added by the National Assembly for the
National Assembly members’ emoluments. Surely, strictly speaking, it is
unconstitutional. There is no valid argument for this except to see it for what
it is – law-breaking and impunity by lawmakers. The lawmakers can return to the
path of honour, distinguishness, sensitivity and responsibility. The National
Assembly should have the courage to publish its recurrent budgets for the years
2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. That is what transparency demands. With the number of
legislators not changing, comparison can be made. Comparisons in emoluments can
also be made with countries like Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and even Malaysia and
Indonesia who are richer and more developed than we are.
The budget is a proposal and only an estimate
of income and expenditure. Where income is inadequate, expenditure will not be
made. While in government, I was threatened with impeachment by the members of
the National Assembly for not releasing some money they had appropriated for
themselves which were odious and for which there were no incomes to support.
The recent issue of cars for legislators would fall into the same category.
Whatever name it is disguised as, it is unnecessary and insensitive. A pool of
a few cars for each Chamber will suffice for any Committee Chairman or members
for any specific duty. The waste that has gone into cars, furniture, housing
renovation in the past was mind-boggling and these were veritable sources of
waste and corruption. That was why they were abolished. Bringing them back is
inimical to the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.
The way of proposing budget should be for
the executive to discuss every detail of the budget, in preparation, with
different Committees and sub-Committees of the National Assembly and the
National Assembly to discuss its budget with the Ministry of Finance. Then, the
budget should be brought together as consolidated budget and formally presented
to the National Assembly, to be deliberated and debated upon and passed into
law. It would then be implemented as revenues are available. Where budget
proposals are extremely ambitious like the current budget and revenue sources
are so uncertain, more borrowing may have to be embarked upon, almost up to 50%
of the budget or the budget may be grossly unimplementable and unimplemented.
Neither is a choice as both are bad. Management of the economy is one of the
key responsibilities of the President as prescribed in the Constitution. He
cannot do so if he does not have his hands on the budget. Management of the
economy is shared responsibility where the Presidency has the lion share of the
responsibility. But if the National Assembly becomes a cog in the wheel, the
executive efforts will not yield much reward or progress. The two have to work
synchronisingly together to provide the impetus and the conducive environment
for the private sector to play its active vanguard role. Management of the
budget is the first step to manage the economy. It will be interesting if the
National Assembly will be honourable enough and begin the process of
transparency, responsibility and realism by publishing its recurrent budgets
for 2016 as it should normally be done.
Hopefully, the National Assembly will take
a step back and do what is right not only in making its own budget transparent
but in all matters of financial administration and management including audit
of its accounts by external outside auditor from 1999 to date. This, if it is
done, will bring a new dawn to democracy in Nigeria and a new and better image
for the National Assembly and it will surely avoid the Presidency and the
National Assembly going into face-off all the time on budgets and financial
matters.
While I thank you for your patience and
understanding, please accept, Dear Senate President and Honourable Speaker of
the House, the assurances of my highest consideration.
OLUSEGUN
OBASANJO
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