P
PressRoom
Guest
Forget the boisterous drama in Nigeria's political space, the last few weeks have not been funny. It is of the country with loop holes in its legislative chambers with government expenditure. Nigerians have been fed with unpleasant information on the details of how principal officers in the House of Representatives allegedly abused the privileges of appropriation and lawmaking.
The allegation of budget-padding, levelled against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and three other officers, by former chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, and the denial and counter-accusation there from, have reinforced the escalating degeneration of lawmaking in the National Assembly.
Nigeria has a President. Mohammadu Buhari, an ex-military commander, and one of the most respected and decorated officers in the history of the Nigerian Army. Minister of Budget and National Planning says the budget passed by the President was a better document than the first budget returned by the National Assembly. What exactly is the issue? Should President Buhari be silent on a sensitive National issue like this? What are those things that could be done to end padding – which has actually been on in the legislative quarters for quite some time.
1. What Exactly Happened? The Public Should Know: Before we get to the stage of trials and punishment, there must be a clear establishment of facts as to what exactly happened, the role of the principal actors and how they exploited the system. This will allow the public to have information that will enable them to make meaningful contributions to a foreclosure process.
2. Offenders Should Be Trialled And Punished: This will perhaps go down as one of the stains on President Buhari's Change mantra. The appropriate action to be taken is to punish all the offenders. This is in consideration of the definition of law as the command of the sovereign which must be obeyed at the risk of sanctions. There should be no ''ábove the law' in this case.
3. Principal Officers Involved In The Mess Should Confess and Apologize: Principal officers involved in this mess should confess and apologise to Nigerians for their shameful conduct. Without taking sides to the raging feud, specific allegations made against the leadership by the former chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Abdulmumini Jibrin, have been left unanswered. The House leadership is trying to use a general traverse of denials against specific allegations. This cannot stand in law and logical analysis. The allegations are specific and need factual responses to successfully rebut them. It is at this second phase that we may be able to explore the possibilities of compensation to society for the misdeeds of the legislators. Whether there is a framework to get this compensation or what exactly the offenders have that can compensate society is a moot point that may be further interrogated.
4. Scrutinize The System That Led to Padding Against Recurrence: After fishing out the details of how the system was manipulated, the next is to use the information to learn lessons, plug the loopholes and devise measures to guarantee non-repetition of the fraud. The system must not be so weak as to allow this manner of fraud to be repeated. Thus, this provides an opportunity for a comprehensive review of the entire appropriation system and ensuring that it is re-wired to protect the public interest.
5. Minister of Budget Should Be Relieved of Duty: Following the scandals surrounding issues of 2016 budget right from the insertion of items, withdrawal from the Senate, and other irregularities, one would have expected President Buhari to relieve the minister of Budget and planning for those woes. President Buhari needs to take the bull by the horn and caution any minister in his cabinet members that aver to irregularities so as to serve as deterrent to others. This will allow Mr President's anti corruption campaign potent
6. Extend Anti-Corruption Fight to His Party: The President has been accused of a one-sided anti-corruption campaign and it seem obviously true. In other to establish deterrence in the national assembly, President Buhari need to extend the hand of probe to his party members. This, will no doubt send stern warning and pad their thoughts positively before they attempt adding up to national budget.
The allegation of budget-padding, levelled against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and three other officers, by former chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, and the denial and counter-accusation there from, have reinforced the escalating degeneration of lawmaking in the National Assembly.
Nigeria has a President. Mohammadu Buhari, an ex-military commander, and one of the most respected and decorated officers in the history of the Nigerian Army. Minister of Budget and National Planning says the budget passed by the President was a better document than the first budget returned by the National Assembly. What exactly is the issue? Should President Buhari be silent on a sensitive National issue like this? What are those things that could be done to end padding – which has actually been on in the legislative quarters for quite some time.
1. What Exactly Happened? The Public Should Know: Before we get to the stage of trials and punishment, there must be a clear establishment of facts as to what exactly happened, the role of the principal actors and how they exploited the system. This will allow the public to have information that will enable them to make meaningful contributions to a foreclosure process.
2. Offenders Should Be Trialled And Punished: This will perhaps go down as one of the stains on President Buhari's Change mantra. The appropriate action to be taken is to punish all the offenders. This is in consideration of the definition of law as the command of the sovereign which must be obeyed at the risk of sanctions. There should be no ''ábove the law' in this case.
3. Principal Officers Involved In The Mess Should Confess and Apologize: Principal officers involved in this mess should confess and apologise to Nigerians for their shameful conduct. Without taking sides to the raging feud, specific allegations made against the leadership by the former chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Abdulmumini Jibrin, have been left unanswered. The House leadership is trying to use a general traverse of denials against specific allegations. This cannot stand in law and logical analysis. The allegations are specific and need factual responses to successfully rebut them. It is at this second phase that we may be able to explore the possibilities of compensation to society for the misdeeds of the legislators. Whether there is a framework to get this compensation or what exactly the offenders have that can compensate society is a moot point that may be further interrogated.
4. Scrutinize The System That Led to Padding Against Recurrence: After fishing out the details of how the system was manipulated, the next is to use the information to learn lessons, plug the loopholes and devise measures to guarantee non-repetition of the fraud. The system must not be so weak as to allow this manner of fraud to be repeated. Thus, this provides an opportunity for a comprehensive review of the entire appropriation system and ensuring that it is re-wired to protect the public interest.
5. Minister of Budget Should Be Relieved of Duty: Following the scandals surrounding issues of 2016 budget right from the insertion of items, withdrawal from the Senate, and other irregularities, one would have expected President Buhari to relieve the minister of Budget and planning for those woes. President Buhari needs to take the bull by the horn and caution any minister in his cabinet members that aver to irregularities so as to serve as deterrent to others. This will allow Mr President's anti corruption campaign potent
6. Extend Anti-Corruption Fight to His Party: The President has been accused of a one-sided anti-corruption campaign and it seem obviously true. In other to establish deterrence in the national assembly, President Buhari need to extend the hand of probe to his party members. This, will no doubt send stern warning and pad their thoughts positively before they attempt adding up to national budget.
