2012 budget gathering momentum
By Sola Shittu
This year has been tagged the year of protests. In fact Times International Man of the Year is the protester. As soon as we launch into the first month of the year, the protests started in the North African countries spreading through Europe, forcing prominent Arab leaders like Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Ghadaffi out of office. But unlike Mubarak, Ghadaffi was not lucky; he lost his life in the battle to remain in office even after spending 42 years. Protest still continues in Syria with the Syrian leader launching attacks on his people like Ghadaffi. It is not certain yet what will happen to him but there is ominous sign of impending doom for him since he has started going the way of Ghadaffi by fighting, shooting and killing his own people. The black African countries in the west, east, central and southern Africa, have remained unperturbed by the orgy of protests spreading like wild fire in the Arab world. Nigeria in particular lacks the protest culture but as President Jonathan presented the 2012 budget to the National Assembly last Tuesday, he was silent on the time bomb; the fuel subsidy removal with only a comment that he would liberalise the downstream sector of the oil industry to provide more employment. But how he would do it was something he kept to his chest. That Tuesday in the National Assembly was something else. It was a day that relived the beauty and power of democracy. The President was this time around facing his “bosses” (the people); to present a budget proposal of N4.749 trillion with security gulping a whopping N931.91 billion, a proposal which seems discomforting to many of the lawmakers who are insisting that Jonathan must justify it. The Power sector follows the security with N161.42, Works, N180.8billion, Education excluding UBE, PTDF and ETF, N400.15 billion, Agric N78.98, Health, N282.77, Water resources, N59.66, Aviation, N49.23. Others are Transport N54.83, Land and Housing, N26.49, Science and Technology, N18.31.
Before the budget was presented to the joint session of the National Assembly, Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly, Senator David Mark fired the first salvo in his opening address by criticising poor implementation of budget by government which to him has not matched the words of government as economic policies often lack continuity and projects are needlessly discarded or abandoned.
To him, the country has what it takes to be a great nation or a world power. “But we have never challenged ourselves sufficiently over the years to attain this desired goal.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, was not lenient in his address to the President too. Tambuwal came hard on Jonathan asking him to do something and very quickly before this house collapses on all of us. “The truth is, there is no better signal that a government is alive to its responsibility than through its strict adherence to its own budget proposal”. It is very clear that the National Assembly is not against subsidy removal, but the fears remain on how the matter will be presented to the electorate and the public at large without a serious damage to their political career. Many of the lawmakers fear that they might lose their bid to return to the National Assembly if the matter is presented to members of their constituencies who are already warming up for a showdown with government on the matter. Tambuwal’s closing remark was welcome by a standing ovation from members. President Jonathan sat in the second row of the raised platform in the hallowed chamber of the House of Representatives beaming with smile as the two principal officers expressed the feelings of the National Assembly. Obviously, both Mark and Tambuwal were speaking the minds of the people and this has definitely put the President in a very tight corner on how to confront the issue of fuel subsidy. No wonder he was silent on it in the budget. However that does not mean that the budget was not without its own very good sides, which require a lot of courage for government to implement. For instance, while the ban and high tariff on some imported foodstuffs is commendable, the government has not provided any alternative for the looming scarcity or high cost of foodstuffs that will follow. As Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi stated, the allocation to the security sector was four times what was given to health.
“What is going into the security is six times what we are spending for power. The prioritisation of out spending is not reflective of what is happening in our economy. If we spend more on agriculture, which can provide jobs, we won’t worry about security. This brings us to the real issue of our discussion. If Nigeria has successfully escaped the protests that greeted year 2011, we must be very careful not to plunge the country into an unending strike which the labour and the civil societies are already warming for. It will be in the best interest of the government to look inward and be very careful in our fiscal policy that still has the carryover of high recurrent expenditure giving more rooms for corruption while capital vote remains at 30 percent. If government can swap the vote of recurrent expenditure for capital expenditure, it means there will be provision of more infrastructures and there will be more jobs for the people. The present state of government being the highest employer of labour in the country is a reversal of what we used to be in the 70s and early 80s. Juicy jobs in the country today are found only in government service which allows for lots of corruption through bureaucratic bottlenecks and except the private sector is allowed to run the economy of this country as it used to be before and as it is in other nations of the world then we shall continue to rigmarole at the same spot with our vast untapped natural and human resources. But still this budget is pregnant; however the manner of delivery and the kind of baby it will deliver is in the hand of GEJ who is the driver of this nation today. But whatever decision that will be taken must always take into consideration of the fact that the masses of this nation are already overburdened.
END
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Who is after Roli Bode George
By Sola Shittu
The incident in the senate on Wednesday last week reminded one of the sad tales of Chief Olabode George, the former Chairman of the Nigeria ports authority, NPA, South West Vice Chairman and Deputy National Chairman (South) of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). Bode George was noted for his role in the overrun of the entire five South West states for the PDP in 2007 without using bulldozer. An effort that earned him the elevation from Vice Chairman South West to Deputy National Chairman, (South) of the PDP and the juicy position of the Chairman of NPA. Bode George was at the peak of his political career and everything seemed to be working for him when he had an Humpty Dumpty fall which landed him in kirikiri prison with prison uniform. Yet, he remains a PDP chieftain notorious for his powerful influence on the party within and outside the prison. But our attention to day is not on Bode George but on Roli Bode George, his youthful wife whose appointment as a member of the National Population Commission Board is receiving criticism from the three senators from Lagos State who described her as a non indigene of the state. Bode George has always blamed his predicament on the ACN leaders in Lagos State, particular the ersthwhile governor of the state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu the cut throat cold war between Tinubu and Bode George is legendary. Both political gladiators see each other not only as rival but a threat to their political status in the south west. It was on this premise that the trio of senators Oluremi Tinubu, Gbenga Ashafa and Ganiyu Solomon rose against the appointment of Roli Bode George by Mr. President as a member of the National Population Commission board, a post describe as very sensitive to the state. However their opposition could not have its way in the hallowed chamber of the senate predominantly dominated by the PDP members, her appointment scaled through and the ACN senators were aggrieved. They rushed from the chamber to the press corps room to express their displeasure at the development. Ganiyu Solomon was not around but his interest was adequately represented by his two other colleagues, senators Remi Tinubu and Gbenga Ashafa. Both senators argued that the president erred in disregarding the letter of the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola seeking the president’s pleasure to nominate the state representatives in the commission. According to them Roli is already a member of two other federal boards and therefore should not be appointed again since she was not the only one in the state. To them, the commission deserves a better representation from Lagos State than Roli because the work of that commission requires somebody who should have the feelings of the people. They wondered why the input of the governor on the matter was ignored by the president adding that even with the protest letter from the senators to the screening committee; the nominated ought to have been rejected. And this where Nigeria politics do not cease to amaze me and I used to wonder why we fret a lot on mundane issue, in as much as I would agree, and totally, with the Lagos senators that appointment into the National population commission Board is a very sensitive one, but one would not agree with the argument that Roli should be disqualified because she is not an indigene of the state. Honestly speaking such argument is coming from a very wrong position after all it is a known fact that senator Oluremi Tinubu who is a senator representing Lagos State, in the senate (a much greater sensitive position) is only a Lagosian by marriage. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. Roli like distinguish senator Remi Tinubu is also married to a Lagosian so the same law of citizenship by marriage which applied to the distinguish senator should also apply to Roli who is now a member of the National Population Commission Board although I sympathize with the ACN senator because their representative this time around is not from the ruling party in the state. But that is politics for you if it is so difficult for any PDP man to get elected into any position in Lagos state then their only consolation will be to look up to the ruling party at the federal for whatever they can get. This is politics and in politics you can not win all the time. But the point raised by the senator for a strong representation in the commission is a serious one especially with the controversy trailing the population figure of Lagos state in the last census. However one needs to ask who can be more Lagosian than a woman who is married to a lagosian. If by marriage Roli loses even her right to bear her father’s name and even be buried in her father’s home if she dies then she can stand, raise her head and call herself a Lagosian. Gbogbowa la l’Eko, this Lagos belongs to all of us. It is obvious that the argument canvassed against Roli is just a mere politicking. Let me make a brief roll call of past governor and commissioner of Lagos from Lateef Jakande who is from Kwara State, Rauf Aregesola, now a governor is Osun State was a commissioner under former governor Tinubu, Adebayo Adewusi, a gubernatorial aspirant in Oyo state who is from Eruwa was a commissioner also under Tinubu, Senator Femi Lanlehin, an Ibadan man now representing Oyo south in the senate was also a former aide to Tinubu so who among all these names is a better Lagosian than someone who is married to lagosian. The answer to this question can be found right among the Lagos Senators. This is Lagos for God sake, centre of excellence not of unnecessary politicking bickering and acrimonies. Eko o ni baje o.
END
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Boko Haram: The Ndume saga and the National Assembly
By Sola Shittu
The news of the arrest of Senator Ali Ndume in connection with the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group was a very disturbing one not only to the senate but the entire National Assembly. Ndume was the minority leader of the House of Representative under the ANPP in the 6th Assembly whose notable role in stabilizing that riotous Assembly was very significant before shifting camp to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) towards the end of the 6th Assembly life span to obtain his senatorial ticket for Borno South Senatorial District. Since then the quintessential Ndume became silent in the House even in the face of intimidation and funny harassment from colleagues he had to remain silent. Since then it was like the voice of opposition in the hallowed green chamber has died down even though minority leadership position was immediately taken over by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (ACNagos) but it was a different thing entirely. So on Monday when the name of Ndume was mentioned by the former spokesman of Boko Haram Ali Sanda Umar Konduga as one of the sponsors of the group it was a rude shock to the entire National Assembly. As soon as the senate resumed on Tuesday it immediately went into executive session to discuss the burning issue of Ndume and other pressing national matters. The arrest raised serious questions on the integrity of the National Assembly therefore the senate has to take a decision on whether to stand by one of them who is facing trial for sponsoring terrorism in the spirit of es spirit de corps or live him to his fate. It is a delicate matter that has attracted international attention and indeed the senate or anyone making comment on this matter have to be very careful. The Boko Haram activities have put Maiduguri and indeed the entire country in the global map of terrorism. But be that as it may, the senate decided to allow the law to take its full course while at the same time standing by its member who is presumed innocent until proving guilty in the court of law. Fortunately Ndume himself has pleaded not guilty to the charges but the question is what is likely to be the implication of a senator of the federal republic being caught in the web of terrorism. First, it is going to create a serious stigma in the image of the entire National Assembly which the two chambers may find difficult to cope with. Secondly, it may reduce the integrity and the high level of respect Nigerians have for the National Assembly especially the senate. But there is also the pertinent question on whether Ndume can come out of this unscathed if he does what is likely to be the impact on the security system of the country? Some are also raising question on the political implication on the ruling government. While the sympathizers of Ndume are pointing fingers at political persecution, could this be true? If so then who is after Ndume and why would Ndume a quintessential lawmaker who has had a glorious carrier as a federal lawmaker be involved in the act of terrorism? What would be his motive? What did he intend to achieve and how many other federal lawmakers and notable dignitaries are still out there enjoying their freedom while silently sponsoring the killings of innocent souls? How many more will be arrested on this matter? There are indeed so many questions begging for answer on the arrest of Ndume because he is too gentlemanly looking to be involved in this kind of acts. On political persecution, the National Assembly is already awashed with the insinuation that Ndume’s political opponents may have a hand in his predicament. Ndume had a rough run with his former party, All Nigeria People party, (ANPP) before coming to the senate. He sought the senatorial ticket from ANPP but was denied. Determined to pursue his ambition, Ndume pressed for the same ticket at the PDP and it was immediately given to him. The PDP was not oblivious of the rising profile of Ndume as the Minority Leader of the 6th Assembly and the threat he posed on several occasions to the ruling party in the National Assembly with his intellectual contributions and critical position to the ruling party’s government policies. And so while the ANPP was battling him on the senatorial ticket the PDP was busy dangling the carrot before him and the pressure from his supporters was too much for Ndume to ignore. There is no doubt that Ndume is well loved and admired by many in the National Assembly having passed through the two chambers in a stretch of eight years making impact along the way but now our dear friend is in his trying period and perhaps that is one reason why the senate choose to stand by him, at least for now, until proven guilty by the court of law. No one know where this swinging pendulum will swing to any moment but the gravity of the situation is enormous to all because terrorism is an international phenomenon especially when one remembers the attendant death toll that followed each bombing carried out from October 1st 2010 when Nigeria marked her 50th birthday. After Ndume scaled through the election to defeat the ANPP candidate Dr. Asabe Vilita Bashir and clinch the senate seat in the last April election he became serious threat to the ANPP in Borno State. Besides, Ndume is part of the PDP team challenging the governorship election in Borno. Few days to his arrest, Ndume led a group of PDP chieftains in Borno including former Governor Mohammed Goni to address a press conference on the state of the suite before the election tribunal in the state. At this juncture, it will be an understatement to ask the State security Service (SSS) to do a thorough job on this matter because all eyes are them now and every Nigerian want to see where this matter will surely end because it is a known fact that politics is behind the Boko Haram insurgence in Maiduguri and it may have to be address politically as we anxiously await more arrest promised by the SSS on this matter. And yet as one sat writing this column the memory of the October first, force headquarters, Un Building, Abacha barrack, Zuba, Sule and the most resent Yobe blasts flashed through my mind. The charred remains of human body, a lump of human flesh thrown on the main street, blood mingled with fire at every scene of blasts flashed through my mind causing a slight cold and wave of electric shock all over my body. The truth of the matter is that honestly this matter is better left to the security agencies as one joins other Nigerians to watch this unfolding drama loaded with lots of suspense and pray for our dear country.
END
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Yet another extension
Written by Sola Shittu,Tel:2348038502103
(Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk
It is the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance
It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance
It is the one who won’t be taken who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live
– Don Williams
The above lines are quoted from one of the songs of Don Williams, a legendary American country music musician noted for his deep thought in composing songs. Actually the title of the song is Rose, a vivid description of the story of love and the pains attached with it. It is also an encapsulating song that started with just one cord from the piano in a geo-metric progression that later resulted into a perfect harmony with other instruments and embellishment that brought out the aesthetics of country music. It’s definitely not a lazy man’s job. But my concern today is not really music and its beauty, though my life and indeed many African lives are not completed without music in the day. But my attention was drawn into those particular four lines having watched closely events in the Senate of the National Assembly in the last few years where budget extension has become a recurrent decimal in our national affair. And that is where the theme of fears that appeared boldly in three of the four lines and silently in the second to the last line comes to mind. It is as if our leaders are bedeviled by the fears or lack of courage to stand up at least for once and say enough is enough for the ship of this nation from drifting and tossing about in the storming ocean of politics and mal-administration of this country. You say what do I mean? Take for instance this issue of virement. Obviously for those of us in the National Assembly, the foundation has been laid for virement of the 2011 budget just as it is been laid already for the 2012 budget. For how can one explain a situation where the President is presenting the budget for the New Year at the middle of the last month of the year to the National Assembly? Definitely, before the National Assembly commences consideration of it and the defence by the MDAs it is going to take another two months. And after that the joint committees of the two chambers of National Assembly will sit for harmonisation which will take another round of lobbying both internal and external in the National Assembly and of course with tension already mounting on government’s plans to remove the fuel subsidy by January next year only God knows how long it will take to pass the budget in the National Assembly without distraction from the public, labour and civil societies already poised for a show down with government on the planned removal of fuel subsidy. For the past five years, our budget has been subject of extension from one fiscal year to another and yet consistently with less than fifty or sometime forty percent implementation. Last week the National Assembly endorsed the extension of the 2011 budget till March 2011 through virement proposals from Mr. President in respect of the 2011 Appropriation Act for nine MDAs.
How long will it take our leaders to wake up from their slumber and lift their feet to the sweet melody of change going on in the air from Nigerians yearning and desperately hungry for true development? Our government is rather too involved in politicking than governance. Every year the budget performance is always poor and below the average line and yet a lot of money have gone down the drain of recurrent expenditure. On Thursday, the Senate was categorical on this, as it called on the executive to ensure that it returned excess recurrent to the treasury.
Senate Appropriation committee chairman while presenting his report on the virement to the senate said, “we find it difficult to recommend for approval the virement proposal on the 2011 recurrent budget as requested by the executive,” even as he gave condition that “even if a request for extension of the current budget is made it will only affect capital component”.
It was at this juncture that he spilled the bin on the discovery of irregular transfer of funds among the ministries. The senator said virement should be carried out within MDAs and not the transfer of funds from one ministry to another which amounts to alteration of the 2011 Appropriation act if it is approved.
While joining the House of Representatives in approving the sum of N31, 859,945,730 supplementary appropriations on the virement proposals, the senate said it was reluctant in approving the virement because it’s just about three weeks to the end of the fiscal year.
Now let me come back to the Don Williams’ poem above as it relates to our country Nigeria. The chicken-hearted ones are always afraid to take steps that will change their destinies for two reasons. First is the fear of failure. When a man is caged by fear, he would not want to make bold move because of the thought that he might fail and secondly because he paid too much attention to side comments of spectators some of whom are consciously waiting for him to berth. The second reason for fear is the fear of coping with challenges of failure, which are probably too hard for the defeated to swallow. In this case, if we fail to destroy our fears and face the problems of nation building then we remain in the cocoon of the failures that had a humpty dumpty fall and never recovered again. It is the dream fear of waking that never takes chance. For a man to be complete Homo sapiens, he must take the full course of life. The same applies to a nation that fails to take a chance when the opportunity comes. If Nigeria as a country continues to have carry-over of every fiscal year, then it means we are having chicken-hearted leaders who are afraid of dying and never learn to live.
END
Written by Sola Shittu,Tel:2348038502103
(Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk
It is the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance
It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance
It is the one who won’t be taken who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live
– Don Williams
The above lines are quoted from one of the songs of Don Williams, a legendary American country music musician noted for his deep thought in composing songs. Actually the title of the song is Rose, a vivid description of the story of love and the pains attached with it. It is also an encapsulating song that started with just one cord from the piano in a geo-metric progression that later resulted into a perfect harmony with other instruments and embellishment that brought out the aesthetics of country music. It’s definitely not a lazy man’s job. But my concern today is not really music and its beauty, though my life and indeed many African lives are not completed without music in the day. But my attention was drawn into those particular four lines having watched closely events in the Senate of the National Assembly in the last few years where budget extension has become a recurrent decimal in our national affair. And that is where the theme of fears that appeared boldly in three of the four lines and silently in the second to the last line comes to mind. It is as if our leaders are bedeviled by the fears or lack of courage to stand up at least for once and say enough is enough for the ship of this nation from drifting and tossing about in the storming ocean of politics and mal-administration of this country. You say what do I mean? Take for instance this issue of virement. Obviously for those of us in the National Assembly, the foundation has been laid for virement of the 2011 budget just as it is been laid already for the 2012 budget. For how can one explain a situation where the President is presenting the budget for the New Year at the middle of the last month of the year to the National Assembly? Definitely, before the National Assembly commences consideration of it and the defence by the MDAs it is going to take another two months. And after that the joint committees of the two chambers of National Assembly will sit for harmonisation which will take another round of lobbying both internal and external in the National Assembly and of course with tension already mounting on government’s plans to remove the fuel subsidy by January next year only God knows how long it will take to pass the budget in the National Assembly without distraction from the public, labour and civil societies already poised for a show down with government on the planned removal of fuel subsidy. For the past five years, our budget has been subject of extension from one fiscal year to another and yet consistently with less than fifty or sometime forty percent implementation. Last week the National Assembly endorsed the extension of the 2011 budget till March 2011 through virement proposals from Mr. President in respect of the 2011 Appropriation Act for nine MDAs.
How long will it take our leaders to wake up from their slumber and lift their feet to the sweet melody of change going on in the air from Nigerians yearning and desperately hungry for true development? Our government is rather too involved in politicking than governance. Every year the budget performance is always poor and below the average line and yet a lot of money have gone down the drain of recurrent expenditure. On Thursday, the Senate was categorical on this, as it called on the executive to ensure that it returned excess recurrent to the treasury.
Senate Appropriation committee chairman while presenting his report on the virement to the senate said, “we find it difficult to recommend for approval the virement proposal on the 2011 recurrent budget as requested by the executive,” even as he gave condition that “even if a request for extension of the current budget is made it will only affect capital component”.
It was at this juncture that he spilled the bin on the discovery of irregular transfer of funds among the ministries. The senator said virement should be carried out within MDAs and not the transfer of funds from one ministry to another which amounts to alteration of the 2011 Appropriation act if it is approved.
While joining the House of Representatives in approving the sum of N31, 859,945,730 supplementary appropriations on the virement proposals, the senate said it was reluctant in approving the virement because it’s just about three weeks to the end of the fiscal year.
Now let me come back to the Don Williams’ poem above as it relates to our country Nigeria. The chicken-hearted ones are always afraid to take steps that will change their destinies for two reasons. First is the fear of failure. When a man is caged by fear, he would not want to make bold move because of the thought that he might fail and secondly because he paid too much attention to side comments of spectators some of whom are consciously waiting for him to berth. The second reason for fear is the fear of coping with challenges of failure, which are probably too hard for the defeated to swallow. In this case, if we fail to destroy our fears and face the problems of nation building then we remain in the cocoon of the failures that had a humpty dumpty fall and never recovered again. It is the dream fear of waking that never takes chance. For a man to be complete Homo sapiens, he must take the full course of life. The same applies to a nation that fails to take a chance when the opportunity comes. If Nigeria as a country continues to have carry-over of every fiscal year, then it means we are having chicken-hearted leaders who are afraid of dying and never learn to live.
END
Monday, July 4, 2011
A Parliamentary Je-June
A parliamentary Je-June
The House of Representatives kicked off last week with a faltering start in parliamentary procedures by predominantly fresh members who wobbled and fumbled along in the plenary. It was amazing how even old members joined in the macabre dance. For instance, when they moved motion, they forgot to second it, and when it was seconded it was out of tune with parliamentary standard.
Worse still old timers that mounted the high rostrum of leadership suffered stage fright and could not control the fresh members who obviously needed tutelage in parliamentary procedures. An attempt by one of them to fill the obvious gap was rebuffed and he was forced to sit down and enjoy the mellow drama in the hallowed chamber. When the House resumed on Tuesday, it immediately went into an executive session that lasted for over three hours. It was expected because all the new members left Abuja disappointed on June 7th with their pocket emptied. Some were even stranded in Abuja with the retinue of supporters who had followed them to share in the joy of inauguration.
But throughout the weeklong activities of retreat, training and lobbying for leadership positions, not a single naira flowed to the pocket of the lawmakers who are obviously cash strapped having exhausted all their savings on the electioneering campaign. But the spirit of hope kept them moving and it was not until it was glaringly clear to them that nothing was likely to come out of the purse of the National Assembly management to members that the sitting was wind up and adjourned till June 28 to allow members return back to their constituencies and get some fresh air.
But some, who were members of the five ad hoc committees set up by the leadership on selection, Welfare, Rules and Business, Media and Publicity and security were left behind; even for them, the entire three weeks was cash dry. Some even travelled out of Abuja officially without sitting or travel allowance but they kept faith in the leadership they believe was their choice. All these matters were discussed in the executive session and some of the committees submitted their reports for deliberations. The leadership also used the session to calm the nerves of members who were already getting fed up with the situation. In particular, those who were unable to secure accommodation used the session to air their frustrations. Yet it was not until Wednesday that the keys to their offices were handed over to them but that was even trailed by series of complaints by those who were uncomfortable with the offices allocated to them while they were left with the option of obtaining loans from the banks to get residential accommodations in Abuja.
So when the gallery was opened and journalists were allowed to enter, the speaker struggled with the gavel to call members, who were busy chatting with colleagues, to order and take their seats for the legislative business to commence. And when the Speaker eventually succeeded, the sound system was intermittently obstructed by GSM signals as members kept their phones switched on. While some were cautious enough to put it in silence, some members forget to do so and even take calls while the session was in progress. Many others were busy fondling with their sets while the speaker was presenting the legislative agenda for the 7th Assembly, some out of fatigue slept off before the Speaker completed the 23- page agenda which attracted a rising ovation from members. There was no doubt that the stress and frustrations of the past few weeks are already taking toll on members and they all have a lot on their minds to discuss with the leadership.
While moving motions, some members often got lost and clapped hands for colleague who moved a motion it was obvious that members have probably forgotten all they were taught at the retreat on parliamentary procedures rules and etiquette. But as the former Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiala said in a chat, “it was a teething problem, we will soon get over it”. The House of Reps is undoubtedly made up of men and women, who have distinguished themselves in their various careers but the legislative business is a unique terrain which needed to be studied carefully for proper conduct of members during legislative proceedings.
The 7th Assembly will, indeed miss some characters in the 6th assembly like Patrick Obahiagbon, also known as Igodomigodo for his jaw breaking vocabularies that on many occasions put life in the legislative business. Former speaker, Dimeji Bankole knew how to use him. Whenever he noticed that members were getting too serious or fatigue had set in as a result of long hours of seating, he would invite Igodomigodo for a comic relief and the house would be livened up again. Obahiagbon, a student of the Zikist school of thought was not usually moved by members reeling in laughter over his vocabularies. What of Dino Melaye that stirred the trouble water, Independent Ogunewe, West Idahosa and other brilliant lawmakers that contributed robust debates in the chamber and acted as stabilizers on many occasions. A whole lot of them except Idahosa and few others were swept away by the political Tsunami that passed through the country from the north to the south under a free and fair election.
Despite their shortcomings, the 6th assembly after all laid the foundation for an election that is celebrated all over the world today as free and fair and an assembly that is the true reflection of the nation’s politics. The 7th assembly is standing on that foundation laid by these men who were randomly condemned for their jumbo salary, internal bickering and corrupt acts. The two principal officers, of that assembly, Bankole, the Speaker and Nafada, his deputy are already on trial for the crimes of that assembly that will never be forgotten for the good and the bad, the law of necessity, the electoral Act amendment and the first amendment of 1999 constitution. What Nigerians are waiting for now is what will be written of the 7th assembly after the next four years.
The House of Representatives kicked off last week with a faltering start in parliamentary procedures by predominantly fresh members who wobbled and fumbled along in the plenary. It was amazing how even old members joined in the macabre dance. For instance, when they moved motion, they forgot to second it, and when it was seconded it was out of tune with parliamentary standard.
Worse still old timers that mounted the high rostrum of leadership suffered stage fright and could not control the fresh members who obviously needed tutelage in parliamentary procedures. An attempt by one of them to fill the obvious gap was rebuffed and he was forced to sit down and enjoy the mellow drama in the hallowed chamber. When the House resumed on Tuesday, it immediately went into an executive session that lasted for over three hours. It was expected because all the new members left Abuja disappointed on June 7th with their pocket emptied. Some were even stranded in Abuja with the retinue of supporters who had followed them to share in the joy of inauguration.
But throughout the weeklong activities of retreat, training and lobbying for leadership positions, not a single naira flowed to the pocket of the lawmakers who are obviously cash strapped having exhausted all their savings on the electioneering campaign. But the spirit of hope kept them moving and it was not until it was glaringly clear to them that nothing was likely to come out of the purse of the National Assembly management to members that the sitting was wind up and adjourned till June 28 to allow members return back to their constituencies and get some fresh air.
But some, who were members of the five ad hoc committees set up by the leadership on selection, Welfare, Rules and Business, Media and Publicity and security were left behind; even for them, the entire three weeks was cash dry. Some even travelled out of Abuja officially without sitting or travel allowance but they kept faith in the leadership they believe was their choice. All these matters were discussed in the executive session and some of the committees submitted their reports for deliberations. The leadership also used the session to calm the nerves of members who were already getting fed up with the situation. In particular, those who were unable to secure accommodation used the session to air their frustrations. Yet it was not until Wednesday that the keys to their offices were handed over to them but that was even trailed by series of complaints by those who were uncomfortable with the offices allocated to them while they were left with the option of obtaining loans from the banks to get residential accommodations in Abuja.
So when the gallery was opened and journalists were allowed to enter, the speaker struggled with the gavel to call members, who were busy chatting with colleagues, to order and take their seats for the legislative business to commence. And when the Speaker eventually succeeded, the sound system was intermittently obstructed by GSM signals as members kept their phones switched on. While some were cautious enough to put it in silence, some members forget to do so and even take calls while the session was in progress. Many others were busy fondling with their sets while the speaker was presenting the legislative agenda for the 7th Assembly, some out of fatigue slept off before the Speaker completed the 23- page agenda which attracted a rising ovation from members. There was no doubt that the stress and frustrations of the past few weeks are already taking toll on members and they all have a lot on their minds to discuss with the leadership.
While moving motions, some members often got lost and clapped hands for colleague who moved a motion it was obvious that members have probably forgotten all they were taught at the retreat on parliamentary procedures rules and etiquette. But as the former Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiala said in a chat, “it was a teething problem, we will soon get over it”. The House of Reps is undoubtedly made up of men and women, who have distinguished themselves in their various careers but the legislative business is a unique terrain which needed to be studied carefully for proper conduct of members during legislative proceedings.
The 7th Assembly will, indeed miss some characters in the 6th assembly like Patrick Obahiagbon, also known as Igodomigodo for his jaw breaking vocabularies that on many occasions put life in the legislative business. Former speaker, Dimeji Bankole knew how to use him. Whenever he noticed that members were getting too serious or fatigue had set in as a result of long hours of seating, he would invite Igodomigodo for a comic relief and the house would be livened up again. Obahiagbon, a student of the Zikist school of thought was not usually moved by members reeling in laughter over his vocabularies. What of Dino Melaye that stirred the trouble water, Independent Ogunewe, West Idahosa and other brilliant lawmakers that contributed robust debates in the chamber and acted as stabilizers on many occasions. A whole lot of them except Idahosa and few others were swept away by the political Tsunami that passed through the country from the north to the south under a free and fair election.
Despite their shortcomings, the 6th assembly after all laid the foundation for an election that is celebrated all over the world today as free and fair and an assembly that is the true reflection of the nation’s politics. The 7th assembly is standing on that foundation laid by these men who were randomly condemned for their jumbo salary, internal bickering and corrupt acts. The two principal officers, of that assembly, Bankole, the Speaker and Nafada, his deputy are already on trial for the crimes of that assembly that will never be forgotten for the good and the bad, the law of necessity, the electoral Act amendment and the first amendment of 1999 constitution. What Nigerians are waiting for now is what will be written of the 7th assembly after the next four years.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Tambuwal: A new man in the block
Tambuwal: A new man in the block
By Sola Shittu.
Last week the intrigues continued on the race for the Speaker of the House of Representatives. After it was zoned to the South West by the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Muraina Ajibola and Mulikat Akande-Adeola emerged in the race but the South West caucus of the PDP adopted Muraina as the chosen candidate of the zone leaving Mulikat in the cold to fight her battle alone with a slim support from the presidency perceived to be coming from the corner of the first lady, Patience Jonathan. But a new twist was added to the race by another group spearheaded by the North West seeking the Tambuwal/Ihedioha ticket as Speaker and Deputy Speaker for the House. Both Aminu Tambuwal and Emeka Ihedioha are the Deputy Whip and the Chief Whip of the House. Although the idea was not a new one but it was not until, Farouk Lawan, a Kano PDP lawmaker decided to step down for Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from Sokoto that the group began to take their campaign serious. Last week they joined Muraina Ajibola and Mulikat Akande-Adeola in chattering a private aircraft to tour the six geo-political zone venue of the just concluded retreat for elected lawmakers. The Tambuwal group is undoubtedly parading an intimidating array of supporters and big wigs in the House leadership as well as over 150 members of the first timer lawmakers. As a matter of fact, the fresh lawmakers has a representative in the person of Honourable Kumo from Gombe among the campaigners of Tambuwal. Let’s look at the Tambuwal team, Honourable Leo Ogor, Chairman House Committee on ..., John Enoh, Chairman House committee on Finance, former Deputy Minority leader and now Minority Whip, Honourable Sumaila Kawu, chairman house Committee on Public Petition, Honourable CID Maduabum among others. these lawmakers among others form the engine room of Tambuwal and there was no doubting the fact that the Deputy Speaker, Bayero Nafada has a hand in this project even though he was not seen with them but those close to Nafada are clearly in this project. They said they are not out to confront anybody but are going to engage government in the process of ensuring that the House produce the right leadership which is the choice of members. Sincerely speaking, among all the contestants so far, Tambuwal presents the most intimidating profile as a third term legislator who has worked closely with four speakers, Lion King Na’aba, Aminu Masari, Patricia Etteh and Dimeji Bankole. Indeed there is a leadership challenge in the House and the urgent need to address this is not in question. However the overbearing influence of the party and the presidency in the past has been the undoing of the House. At the same time, it quickly comes to mind that even after the exit of Etteh and the House had an opportunity to put their own man there in the person of Bankole, the question is does the attempt solve the problem in the house? It was obvious and too glaring that the House leadership was unable to manage the success of the Integrity Group after the election of Bankole. The group obviously immediately went to sleep like NADECO after the exit of military reign. As soon as they got themselves into office, they shared the committee portfolios among themselves and forgot the crucial role of calling the Speaker to order when stepping out of his boundary. Sincerely yours, they all goofed and share in the guilt of Bankole, however since they have realised their mistake and have made up their mind to correct it, I am of the mind that it is only a catalyst from a system that can destroy that system, the solution actually lies in every system. Indeed those who have successfully managed Bankole may provide the answer to the mess in the House right now if they are serious about it.
But there is an enemy in the House for Tambuwal in another group who has insisted that he who must come for the office of the speaker and indeed the leadership of the house must come with competence and integrity. In particular, the group is insisting that no member of the present crop of leadership in the House will be allowed to hold office because they want a clean departure from the past. The group have gathered up to seventy signatures of members who are committed to this course. “Our interest is to protect democracy, because it is democracy that brought all of us here. If you look at where Nigeria is coming from you will know that we have a responsibility to ensure that democracy is a success not only in Nigeria but the entire African continent.
“The whole world is looking up to this country to provide the leadership direction for the continent. If we fail, we would have disappointed our generation and the generation unborn and of course, the entire black race will surely not forgive us”, said the group.
Tambuwal is also having a big challenge from the presidency, particularly from the office of the vice president who sees the move by the Tambuwal group as an attempt to rubbish the office of the Vice President who is also from the North West. And again will this move not rubbish the long established zoning policy of the PDP? But can we jettison competency for zoning? Yet the Tambuwal group has perfected their plans, as they successfully adopted the open secret ballot voting pattern for the election of the speaker last week. Subsequent attempt by Ita Enang and some others to reverse the motion the following day proved abortive. As it is now, the speed at which event are unfolding in the House over the speakership race is very unpredictable and the truth is the chess table is open to both the outside and the inside power brokers in the House. The question is who will prevail, the House, the Tambuwal, the PDP or the presidency? June 7th is not too far to wait for.
The new song in the Tambuwal group is that Nigeria is ripe to chat a new course in the appointment of a round peg for a round role and if the revolution can start from the House and in this Speakership race then so be it.
END
By Sola Shittu.
Last week the intrigues continued on the race for the Speaker of the House of Representatives. After it was zoned to the South West by the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Muraina Ajibola and Mulikat Akande-Adeola emerged in the race but the South West caucus of the PDP adopted Muraina as the chosen candidate of the zone leaving Mulikat in the cold to fight her battle alone with a slim support from the presidency perceived to be coming from the corner of the first lady, Patience Jonathan. But a new twist was added to the race by another group spearheaded by the North West seeking the Tambuwal/Ihedioha ticket as Speaker and Deputy Speaker for the House. Both Aminu Tambuwal and Emeka Ihedioha are the Deputy Whip and the Chief Whip of the House. Although the idea was not a new one but it was not until, Farouk Lawan, a Kano PDP lawmaker decided to step down for Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from Sokoto that the group began to take their campaign serious. Last week they joined Muraina Ajibola and Mulikat Akande-Adeola in chattering a private aircraft to tour the six geo-political zone venue of the just concluded retreat for elected lawmakers. The Tambuwal group is undoubtedly parading an intimidating array of supporters and big wigs in the House leadership as well as over 150 members of the first timer lawmakers. As a matter of fact, the fresh lawmakers has a representative in the person of Honourable Kumo from Gombe among the campaigners of Tambuwal. Let’s look at the Tambuwal team, Honourable Leo Ogor, Chairman House Committee on ..., John Enoh, Chairman House committee on Finance, former Deputy Minority leader and now Minority Whip, Honourable Sumaila Kawu, chairman house Committee on Public Petition, Honourable CID Maduabum among others. these lawmakers among others form the engine room of Tambuwal and there was no doubting the fact that the Deputy Speaker, Bayero Nafada has a hand in this project even though he was not seen with them but those close to Nafada are clearly in this project. They said they are not out to confront anybody but are going to engage government in the process of ensuring that the House produce the right leadership which is the choice of members. Sincerely speaking, among all the contestants so far, Tambuwal presents the most intimidating profile as a third term legislator who has worked closely with four speakers, Lion King Na’aba, Aminu Masari, Patricia Etteh and Dimeji Bankole. Indeed there is a leadership challenge in the House and the urgent need to address this is not in question. However the overbearing influence of the party and the presidency in the past has been the undoing of the House. At the same time, it quickly comes to mind that even after the exit of Etteh and the House had an opportunity to put their own man there in the person of Bankole, the question is does the attempt solve the problem in the house? It was obvious and too glaring that the House leadership was unable to manage the success of the Integrity Group after the election of Bankole. The group obviously immediately went to sleep like NADECO after the exit of military reign. As soon as they got themselves into office, they shared the committee portfolios among themselves and forgot the crucial role of calling the Speaker to order when stepping out of his boundary. Sincerely yours, they all goofed and share in the guilt of Bankole, however since they have realised their mistake and have made up their mind to correct it, I am of the mind that it is only a catalyst from a system that can destroy that system, the solution actually lies in every system. Indeed those who have successfully managed Bankole may provide the answer to the mess in the House right now if they are serious about it.
But there is an enemy in the House for Tambuwal in another group who has insisted that he who must come for the office of the speaker and indeed the leadership of the house must come with competence and integrity. In particular, the group is insisting that no member of the present crop of leadership in the House will be allowed to hold office because they want a clean departure from the past. The group have gathered up to seventy signatures of members who are committed to this course. “Our interest is to protect democracy, because it is democracy that brought all of us here. If you look at where Nigeria is coming from you will know that we have a responsibility to ensure that democracy is a success not only in Nigeria but the entire African continent.
“The whole world is looking up to this country to provide the leadership direction for the continent. If we fail, we would have disappointed our generation and the generation unborn and of course, the entire black race will surely not forgive us”, said the group.
Tambuwal is also having a big challenge from the presidency, particularly from the office of the vice president who sees the move by the Tambuwal group as an attempt to rubbish the office of the Vice President who is also from the North West. And again will this move not rubbish the long established zoning policy of the PDP? But can we jettison competency for zoning? Yet the Tambuwal group has perfected their plans, as they successfully adopted the open secret ballot voting pattern for the election of the speaker last week. Subsequent attempt by Ita Enang and some others to reverse the motion the following day proved abortive. As it is now, the speed at which event are unfolding in the House over the speakership race is very unpredictable and the truth is the chess table is open to both the outside and the inside power brokers in the House. The question is who will prevail, the House, the Tambuwal, the PDP or the presidency? June 7th is not too far to wait for.
The new song in the Tambuwal group is that Nigeria is ripe to chat a new course in the appointment of a round peg for a round role and if the revolution can start from the House and in this Speakership race then so be it.
END
Between Muraina Ajibola and Mulikat Akande-Adeola
Between Muraina Ajibola and Mulikat Akande Adeola, a tale of two lawyers
By Sola Shittu
The outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole is undoubtedly under pressure at the tail end of his tenure as the Speaker of the 6th Assembly. His colleagues are mounting a lot of pressure for their last pay. Over two hundred and fifty of them lost their seats in the hallowed chamber to green horns lawmakers who will replace them at the 7th Assembly. Last Thursday Bankole fought a battle of his life and narrowly escaped the wrath of angry members who are bitterly complaining about the delay in the payment of their allowances. Some members who are bent on taking a pound of flesh from Bankole are not finding it funning that their money is hanging somewhere in a bank in the face of serious hardship confronting many of them now. Yet in the mist of all the heats and tension in the House, Bankole was able to flash his toothy smiles to member after a long drawn executive session and even jocularly predicted the ascension of Muraina Ajibola to the leadership ladder in the next few weeks. The question is whether Bankole has shifted his support for Bethel Amadi to Muraina after the office of Mr. Speaker was zoned to the South West.
That Muraina is in the race for the Speaker of the House is no longer a story but the real battle is whether Muraina , a practicing lawyer of many years, representing Ibarapa Central/North of Oyo State will be able to withstand his strong rival, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, also a lawyer and representative from Ogbomoso North/South/Orire in the same Oyo State. The battle became more complicated over the weekend when the South West caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, met at former President Olusegun Obasanjo hill top residence at Abeokuta to endorse Obasanjo’s choice of Muraina as the candidate of the South West PDP for the office of Mr. Speaker. Even outgoing Governor Adebayo Akala, who is one of the key sponsors of Akande-Adeola was compelled to respect the decision of the caucus. But Obasanjo’s appearance on the side of Muraina has brought both the good and the bad to Muraina’s dream. But obviously the good is more than the bad in the sense that even though Obasanjo has made more enemies in politics than friends yet, his views are well respected by the PDP big shots both as a former president on the platform of the party and the Chairman Board of Trustees, BOT of the party. Obasanjo’s endorsement has brought the fear of external domination against internal influence in the business of the House. But there is another silent contestant who is rarely mentioned by observers of the happenings in the hallowed chamber of the House of Representatives. There are fie members of the PDP in the House from Oyo State, in the coming assembly but only three of them are ranking members namely, Muraina Saubana Ajibola, Mulikat Akande-Adeola and Kareem Tajudeen Abisodun. Abisodun’s chance of contesting for the exalted seat of Mr. Speaker was limited by the fact that he is a cross over member from the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN to the PDP where he obtained his return ticket. Like his two other colleagues, Abisodun is also not well known in the House because he has never been chairman of any committee and was not even prominent in any committee as Muraina, but he is regarded as the only level headed man waiting at a corner to see what is like to happen to the duo and the opportunity for him to come in. He has also been able to make a lot of friends among the lawmakers but how far that carry him, no one can tell. However, while attention is focused on both internal and external politics of the House, many are brushing aside the religious factor which is of stronger influence in the House. Many have argued that the true Speaker in the waiting is actually Mulikat Akande-Adeola who is expected to give the women folk a brilliant sense of belonging in the nation’s politics. Besides, her attachment to the first lady, Patience Jonathan who has been at the vanguard for women playing prominent roles in politics is a powerful influence for her. Mulika, like Muraina are not so popular in the House but in fairness to Muraina, his role in the power probe by the House committee on power led by Ndudi Elumelu in 2008 is a plus for him, just as his decision to write minority report against the Elumelu report did not also go down well with some of his colleagues in the House. However, unlike Mulikat, the power probe and the role of Muraina in it propelled him above his competitor. But Mulikat is also a lawyer with Master degree who also has the ability to communicate fluently in all the three major languages of Nigeria as well as being agraduate of ABU Zaria. while the religious factor favour both Muraina and Mulikat who are coming from Islamic religion yet, the Islamic religion places less emphasis on women playing a leadership role or even leading a prayer in the mosque or at home. This religious inter-play was a dominant factor in the removal of Madam Etteh the predecessor of Bankole even though nobody mentioned it. It has always being an underground factor that controls the votes of lawmakers in the appointment of Speaker. It will be recalled that Etteh’s exit was largely blamed on her being the choice of Obasanjo but the election of Bankole was based on being a muslim and the candidate of the Muslim north members and that was why it was difficult to remove him even in the face of serious scandals rocking the House.
The challenge before Muraina and Mulikat therefore is to go beyond external support of sponsorship to warming themselves to the hearts of their colleagues in the House who actually have the voting right in the election of Mr. Speaker. At the moment, the duo have shifted their base to Protea Hotel at Apo where they have their campaign offices. The exodus of member to the hotel is an indication of seriousness attached to the office of Mr. Speaker.
By Sola Shittu
The outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole is undoubtedly under pressure at the tail end of his tenure as the Speaker of the 6th Assembly. His colleagues are mounting a lot of pressure for their last pay. Over two hundred and fifty of them lost their seats in the hallowed chamber to green horns lawmakers who will replace them at the 7th Assembly. Last Thursday Bankole fought a battle of his life and narrowly escaped the wrath of angry members who are bitterly complaining about the delay in the payment of their allowances. Some members who are bent on taking a pound of flesh from Bankole are not finding it funning that their money is hanging somewhere in a bank in the face of serious hardship confronting many of them now. Yet in the mist of all the heats and tension in the House, Bankole was able to flash his toothy smiles to member after a long drawn executive session and even jocularly predicted the ascension of Muraina Ajibola to the leadership ladder in the next few weeks. The question is whether Bankole has shifted his support for Bethel Amadi to Muraina after the office of Mr. Speaker was zoned to the South West.
That Muraina is in the race for the Speaker of the House is no longer a story but the real battle is whether Muraina , a practicing lawyer of many years, representing Ibarapa Central/North of Oyo State will be able to withstand his strong rival, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, also a lawyer and representative from Ogbomoso North/South/Orire in the same Oyo State. The battle became more complicated over the weekend when the South West caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, met at former President Olusegun Obasanjo hill top residence at Abeokuta to endorse Obasanjo’s choice of Muraina as the candidate of the South West PDP for the office of Mr. Speaker. Even outgoing Governor Adebayo Akala, who is one of the key sponsors of Akande-Adeola was compelled to respect the decision of the caucus. But Obasanjo’s appearance on the side of Muraina has brought both the good and the bad to Muraina’s dream. But obviously the good is more than the bad in the sense that even though Obasanjo has made more enemies in politics than friends yet, his views are well respected by the PDP big shots both as a former president on the platform of the party and the Chairman Board of Trustees, BOT of the party. Obasanjo’s endorsement has brought the fear of external domination against internal influence in the business of the House. But there is another silent contestant who is rarely mentioned by observers of the happenings in the hallowed chamber of the House of Representatives. There are fie members of the PDP in the House from Oyo State, in the coming assembly but only three of them are ranking members namely, Muraina Saubana Ajibola, Mulikat Akande-Adeola and Kareem Tajudeen Abisodun. Abisodun’s chance of contesting for the exalted seat of Mr. Speaker was limited by the fact that he is a cross over member from the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN to the PDP where he obtained his return ticket. Like his two other colleagues, Abisodun is also not well known in the House because he has never been chairman of any committee and was not even prominent in any committee as Muraina, but he is regarded as the only level headed man waiting at a corner to see what is like to happen to the duo and the opportunity for him to come in. He has also been able to make a lot of friends among the lawmakers but how far that carry him, no one can tell. However, while attention is focused on both internal and external politics of the House, many are brushing aside the religious factor which is of stronger influence in the House. Many have argued that the true Speaker in the waiting is actually Mulikat Akande-Adeola who is expected to give the women folk a brilliant sense of belonging in the nation’s politics. Besides, her attachment to the first lady, Patience Jonathan who has been at the vanguard for women playing prominent roles in politics is a powerful influence for her. Mulika, like Muraina are not so popular in the House but in fairness to Muraina, his role in the power probe by the House committee on power led by Ndudi Elumelu in 2008 is a plus for him, just as his decision to write minority report against the Elumelu report did not also go down well with some of his colleagues in the House. However, unlike Mulikat, the power probe and the role of Muraina in it propelled him above his competitor. But Mulikat is also a lawyer with Master degree who also has the ability to communicate fluently in all the three major languages of Nigeria as well as being agraduate of ABU Zaria. while the religious factor favour both Muraina and Mulikat who are coming from Islamic religion yet, the Islamic religion places less emphasis on women playing a leadership role or even leading a prayer in the mosque or at home. This religious inter-play was a dominant factor in the removal of Madam Etteh the predecessor of Bankole even though nobody mentioned it. It has always being an underground factor that controls the votes of lawmakers in the appointment of Speaker. It will be recalled that Etteh’s exit was largely blamed on her being the choice of Obasanjo but the election of Bankole was based on being a muslim and the candidate of the Muslim north members and that was why it was difficult to remove him even in the face of serious scandals rocking the House.
The challenge before Muraina and Mulikat therefore is to go beyond external support of sponsorship to warming themselves to the hearts of their colleagues in the House who actually have the voting right in the election of Mr. Speaker. At the moment, the duo have shifted their base to Protea Hotel at Apo where they have their campaign offices. The exodus of member to the hotel is an indication of seriousness attached to the office of Mr. Speaker.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The return of FOI bill
For more than eight times since 2007, the FOI Bill has suffered several deaths in the hands of the Nigerian lawmakers so much that many of them often refer to the bill as Abiku. Up till today the FOI Bill remains the longest bill in the House of Representatives. It has generated so much hatred and bitterness for itself among members who have vowed that the bill will never see the light of the day as long as they are still in the House. But recently, it begins to receive some concern and consideration among the lawmakers who have become the victims or can I say casualty of the lack of freedom of information bill in the country. At the time when the Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi began to deal a deadly blow on the lawmakers who were very close to election time, the Reps find no ally in the media or the Nigerian public who were already tired of National Assembly members. The media was awashed with all sorts of conflicting figures on the percentage of the national Assembly in the 2010 budget; indeed, the National Assembly was thoroughly humiliated on this singular matter. It was at this period that some members began to think that if the FOI Bill had been in place, then the media and indeed the public would have had access to true and correct information about the state of the matter. Some two weeks ago, the Information minister Mr. Labaran Maku called on the lawmakers to as a matter of necessity pass the FOI bill.
But the deed had been done already and the National Assembly was left to lick its wounds alone. However on Thursday last week, the bill resurfaced again in a dramatic way to the chargring of journalists at the gallery and it was number one on the order paper. Some few minutes after 11 o clock, the Speaker of the House Dimeji Bankole appeared at the chamber, took his seat and with less than thirty members on the floor called on the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business Honourable Ita Enang, to move the motion for the re-committal of the FOI Bill to joint committee on Information and Orientation and Justice for public hearing with the ultimatum to submit the report within seven days. Enang speaking in support of the motion said “we are aware that several members have requested that this motion be brought to rescind the decision and recommit it to the Joint committee for scrutiny since the need has arising for the House to revisit the decision in public interest”. The voice vote received an overwhelming yeah against a lonely nay voice and the yeah have it. Immediately after the vote, Bankole left the chamber and the Deputy Speaker; Bayero Nafada took over the remaining business for the day. But the question still remains on whether the bill will not suffered the same fate of Abiku again when the report is submitted to the House for consideration and debate. Of course one also knows that if the House and especially the leadership is determined to put and en to this matter once and for all it can do it. After all, the NCC 2010 budget with its bogus sim card registration money scaled through amid hue and cries of protesting members. In 2007 the FOI bill was passed but was not sign to law by former President Olusegun Obasanjo because according to officials of the Presidency, “the bill got missing in transit between the National Assembly and the Presidential Villa”. Obasanjo cleverly refused to sign the bill at the tail end of his administration. Again the bill is coming back to the chamber at the tail end of another administration, why not sounding pessimistic on this matter I hope if the bill scales the huddles at the National Assembly it will not be lost in transit again between the Villa and the National Assembly. Honestly as a seasoned media practitioner, I have known no other profession for the past two decades, it will be my joy and indeed the joy of every other members of the fourth estate of the realm to see the FOI Bill sign into law for our generation, the generation to come and the memory of gallant soldiers of journalism who died at the battle front of war for the liberation of this country from the shackle of draconian leaders. The Dele Giwas of this world, the Tayo Awotunsin, my friend Bayo Ohu and many others who had suffered various degree of injuries both emotionally and psychologically and whose blood painted the road to Nigeria’s democracy red. It is true that the media is passionate on the FOI Bill and let me say with due respect to my esteemed readers that we absolutely have no apology for this. As a member of this noble profession I have seen and experienced what it meant not to have access to correct information especially from government quarters. Of course, the bill going by it name is not a media bill, let me go back to the presentation of Ita Enang motion again for the detail of the FOI Bill as captured by the House. Enang noted that the House had on November 14, 2007, by voice vote and pursuant to order XV, Rule 8, committed the Bill for an act to Make Public Record and Information more freely available, provide for public Access to Public Records and information, protect public records and Information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal Privacy, protect Serving Public Officials from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of official information without authorisation and establish procedure for the achievement of those purposes and Related purposes thereof, 2007 to the committee of whole for consideration. So help me God who says then that the FOI Bill is a media whereas it seeks the protection of “serving public Officials” and “provide for public access to public records and information as well as protect public record and information to the extent consistent with public interest and protection of personal privacy”. I know the House and indeed the National Assembly has been boxed to corner on this matter and is seeking to redeem its image in whatever way. If however, passing the FOI Bill will be the only or one of the ways the National Assembly members will be able to raise their heads up again and stand tall before Nigerians then so be it.
But the deed had been done already and the National Assembly was left to lick its wounds alone. However on Thursday last week, the bill resurfaced again in a dramatic way to the chargring of journalists at the gallery and it was number one on the order paper. Some few minutes after 11 o clock, the Speaker of the House Dimeji Bankole appeared at the chamber, took his seat and with less than thirty members on the floor called on the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business Honourable Ita Enang, to move the motion for the re-committal of the FOI Bill to joint committee on Information and Orientation and Justice for public hearing with the ultimatum to submit the report within seven days. Enang speaking in support of the motion said “we are aware that several members have requested that this motion be brought to rescind the decision and recommit it to the Joint committee for scrutiny since the need has arising for the House to revisit the decision in public interest”. The voice vote received an overwhelming yeah against a lonely nay voice and the yeah have it. Immediately after the vote, Bankole left the chamber and the Deputy Speaker; Bayero Nafada took over the remaining business for the day. But the question still remains on whether the bill will not suffered the same fate of Abiku again when the report is submitted to the House for consideration and debate. Of course one also knows that if the House and especially the leadership is determined to put and en to this matter once and for all it can do it. After all, the NCC 2010 budget with its bogus sim card registration money scaled through amid hue and cries of protesting members. In 2007 the FOI bill was passed but was not sign to law by former President Olusegun Obasanjo because according to officials of the Presidency, “the bill got missing in transit between the National Assembly and the Presidential Villa”. Obasanjo cleverly refused to sign the bill at the tail end of his administration. Again the bill is coming back to the chamber at the tail end of another administration, why not sounding pessimistic on this matter I hope if the bill scales the huddles at the National Assembly it will not be lost in transit again between the Villa and the National Assembly. Honestly as a seasoned media practitioner, I have known no other profession for the past two decades, it will be my joy and indeed the joy of every other members of the fourth estate of the realm to see the FOI Bill sign into law for our generation, the generation to come and the memory of gallant soldiers of journalism who died at the battle front of war for the liberation of this country from the shackle of draconian leaders. The Dele Giwas of this world, the Tayo Awotunsin, my friend Bayo Ohu and many others who had suffered various degree of injuries both emotionally and psychologically and whose blood painted the road to Nigeria’s democracy red. It is true that the media is passionate on the FOI Bill and let me say with due respect to my esteemed readers that we absolutely have no apology for this. As a member of this noble profession I have seen and experienced what it meant not to have access to correct information especially from government quarters. Of course, the bill going by it name is not a media bill, let me go back to the presentation of Ita Enang motion again for the detail of the FOI Bill as captured by the House. Enang noted that the House had on November 14, 2007, by voice vote and pursuant to order XV, Rule 8, committed the Bill for an act to Make Public Record and Information more freely available, provide for public Access to Public Records and information, protect public records and Information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal Privacy, protect Serving Public Officials from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of official information without authorisation and establish procedure for the achievement of those purposes and Related purposes thereof, 2007 to the committee of whole for consideration. So help me God who says then that the FOI Bill is a media whereas it seeks the protection of “serving public Officials” and “provide for public access to public records and information as well as protect public record and information to the extent consistent with public interest and protection of personal privacy”. I know the House and indeed the National Assembly has been boxed to corner on this matter and is seeking to redeem its image in whatever way. If however, passing the FOI Bill will be the only or one of the ways the National Assembly members will be able to raise their heads up again and stand tall before Nigerians then so be it.
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