FOURTH REpUBLIC
7TH NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY
SECOND SESSION
1,019
No. 99
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS
Thursday, 6 June, 2013
1.
The House met at 11.17 a.m. Mr Speaker read the Prayers.
2.
Votes and Proceedings:
Mr Speaker announced that he had examined and approved the Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday,S
2013.
June,
By unanimous consent, the Votes and Proceedings was adopted.
3.
Announcement:
Visitors in the Gallery:
Mr Speaker recognized the presence of the following visitors:
4.
(a)
Members of National Association of Northern Nigeria Universities Students (NANNUS),
(b)
Staff and Students of Community Secondary School, Oba-Isin, Isin Local Government Area, Kwara
State;
(c)
Members of Women Group, Gender Support for Women Emancipation
Abuja;
Development Society.
Second Year Anniversary of the 7th House of Representatives:
Mr Speaker recognized the presence of the invited dignitaries on the occasion of the 2nd year anniversary of the
7th House of Representatives.
5.
Speech by the Honourable Speaker:
Mr Speaker read the following Speech to mark the anniversary:
Protocols:
My Dear Honourable Colleagues,
Exactly two years ago, today this hallowed Chambers hosted the inauguration of this 7th Assembly,
specifically the House of Representatives Chambers, today we commemorate our second anniversary. I am sure,
my dear colleagues, these two years have been a cocktail of experiences. We are sincerely grateful to the
Almighty Godfor his grace and sustenance; we deeply appreciate the media for their unwavering partnership,
your criticisms, counsel and deep rooted analysis of our operations have been helpful in shaping as well 'as
sharpening our focus. We commend the Executive and Judicial arms with whom it has been a period of mutual
complimentary .operation, the management and staff of the House have been a wonderful lot working
successfully under over 360 masters. Our brothers the Civil Society have continued to challenge us with their
quick wit, alertness, penchant for detail and unalloyed commitment to the defense of the defenseless. To all
Nigerians, I must state that we are humbled by your trust, confidence, cooperation, patience and understanding
(
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even in the face of deficits in the fulfilment of your aspiration and expectations. to all of you my dear colleagues,
on behalf of the Leadership, I thank you for being an unshaken and unshakable pillar of support and inspiration.
2.
At the commencement of its journey, the 7th House of Representatives fashioned for itself a Legislative
Agenda to guide its processes, programmes and operations. This agenda is consistent with the constitutional,
mandate of the legislature to wit: Legislation, Representation and Oversight. The legislative function of making
laws for the peace, order and good government of Nigeria appears reasonably well appreciated now I7y the
general public, so is the function of oversight of the implementation of the laws so made pursuant to the law
making function. There however appears to be great difficulty in understanding the legislative function of
Representation and it is this that I am persuaded to briefly highlight.
3.
The House of Representatives is the House of the Nigerian people, it is the congregation of over 160
million Nigerians in representative capacity. As it, is well entrenched in the Principal-Agent relationship and
duty of the representative to the constituents and ultimately the entire people of Nigeria. The people may seem
weak against the government they have put in place, though it ought not to be so, but the people must be heard
nonetheless. If the people yearn for fair patronage from their government, be it development, employment or
whatever, a true representative must stand with the people. lWIere they unjustifiably neglect, it will amount to
abuse of mandate and it is in order to forestall this abuse that the people have reservedfor themselves the power
to recall compromising and erring representatives.
4.
If the people feel neglected or unprotected I7y the government they have put in place and they either cry
out or even murmur, the representative is duty bound .to pickup the gauntlet of this groaning to the attention of
the relevant arm of government. lWIen therefore natural disasters occur, epidemics threatens communities, civil
disturbances result in loss of lives and property and the representatives raise motions on the floor and pass
remedial resolutions in that regard, it is in fulfilment of this mandate of Representation. We do not make any
pretensions that Representatives are robots to jump at any hue and cry, no, they make informed decisions
pursuant to their representative duties.
PROGRESS:
5.
The 7th Assembly has operated its Legislative Agenda in the last two years with appreciable successes
but not without rather weak scores in . some objectives. The House Committee on the Legislative Agenda has
drawn up a comprehensive report, the clean copy of which should be in circulation immediately after now. I shall
therefore merely highlight a few areas here since we have programmed to dedicate more time to external
assessment.
UNPRECEDENTED STABILITY:
The House has witnessed unprecedented stability in the last two years. The conducive atmosphere
created I7y this stability is no doubt the foundation for any success that we can lay claim to. Let me state here
that the credit for this stability goes to all the Members of the House and not the Leadership. During these two
long years, Honourable Members have exhibited uncommon diligence, support, inspiration, selflessness, passion,
maturity and willingness to sacrifice towards the promotion and preservation of the National Interest. On behalf
of the Leadership, I most sincerely commend this spirit.
6.
7.
I desire that at all times, it should rest in our consciousness that this is a House of 360 equals, each
representing a Constituency absolutely and I7y electing us to the offices of Presiding and Principal Officers, you
have merely conferred on us the status of Primus Inter Pares. We are human, we are fallible and I urge you as
always to exercise your liberty to call us to order when you feel that we are steering the ship off course, such
is imperative for our collective good and indeed the good of all Nigerians whom we represent.
CONSULTATIVE REPRESENTATION AND VIBRANCY:
8.
Another area in which we have made progress is that of Consultative Representation. As part of our
agenda to remain true andfaithful representatives, we have elected to consult the people on all critical issues.
Pursuant to this, the Peoples' Public Sessions were held in the 360 Constituencies nationwide to avail the people
the opportunity co participate in the making of their Constitution. This initiative was well received I7y the people,
participation was massive and contributions robust and far reaching. Again the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)
has undergone public hearings at the six geopolitical zones and arrangements are underway to have a central
hearing in Abuja for those in the Federal Capital and all other Nigerians and groups who were unable to take
advantage of the zonal hearings. This is apart from the series of routine public hearings on critical issues. such
as Fuel Subsidy regime, Aviation, Capital Market, Non-remittance of revenues I7y MDAs, Non-implementation
of budget among others.
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Thursday, 6 June, 2013
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9.
One major lesson derived from the consultative approach is the fact that the citizens are zealous and
passionate in participating in the running of their government and constitute a rich bank from which invaluable
ideas can be tapped in pursuit of good governance. In the years ahead, we intend to further advance the cause
of citizens participation through this consultative approach.
TRANSPARENCY, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION:
10.
The National Assembly has exercised fiscal discipline and prudence in the management of its finances.
In the face of increased activity including the establishment of the Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) and
enhanced activity by the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO), the 7th National Assembly
has maintained its Budget ceiling since Inception.
11.
Regarding the objective of zero tolerance to corruption, the House has been decisive in meting out
administrative sanctions even when judicial processes are inchoate. We have had to apply such sanctions as
suspension and removal from Committee headships on our colleagues as means of self censorship and internal
discipline. The House is gradually but firmly institutionalizing the war against corruption in order to maintain
high ethical standard for all Legislators. In this regard, the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges is hereby
directed to expeditiously undertake the comprehensive review of the Code of conduct to bring it up to
international parliamentary best practices.
12.
The role of the legislature in the sustenance of true democracy is critical and imperative, therefore if
the legislature loses credibility and the moral standing to efficiently perform its constitutional duties of checks
and balances, then, democracy is threatened because bigotry, authoritarianism, despotism and all the
negative-isms will mount the saddle and absolute corruption will run the nation aground. Cenainly we have no
mandate to oversight the failing of the State.
RESULTS OF THE CONDUCIVE ATMOSPHERE AND PROPER FOCUS:
13.
The peaceful environment and the positively inclined disposition of the Members as well as the staff of
the House have yielded impressive performance and attainment of the set goals. In the area of legislation a total
offive hundred and twelve Bills (512) have been raised all ofwhich have passed first readings; Sixty (60) Bills
have so far been passed into law, while one hundred and thirty-four (134) are undergoing legislative action,
having undergone second reading and are at Committee stage. Some of the Bills passed include NNDC Statutory
Appropriation Act; State of the Nation Address Act; Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act; Terrorism
(Prevention) Act; Maintenance of Public Infrastructure; Banking; Employment and labour issues; education;
agriculture while some of the important ones at Committee stage include the constitution Amendment Bill, the
Petroleum Industry Bill, the Hydro-Electric Power Production Areas Development Commission (Amendment)
Bill among others.
14.
Pursuant to the Represemaiionfunction, the House made stringent effort to ensure that there is at least
minimal patronage of all segments of the country in the Annual budgets. The House has continued to press for
constituency projects to ameliorate situations of total neglect of certain section especially the rural areas where
over 70% of the citizens reside. Notwithstanding misconceptions in certain quarters, I make bold to state that
if constituency projects are removed from the budget, over 40% of Federal constituencies moy witness no federal
patronage in a whole budget year, we see no equity in that.
15.
Furthermore, a total of over seven hundred (700) Motions were raised on the floor and resolutions
passed on matters of concern to the citizens such as national disasters, Communal violence, governmental
oppression among others. I wish to state here that whereas fallure to respect House Resolutions moy not be .
justicable before the regular courts, it is cenainly justicable before the peoples couns and granted that our
mandate emanates from the people, and not the courts, we ought to be mindful of the peoples judgment.
16.
The House Committee on public petitions which is the legislative instrument for Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) has continued to grow very popular with the citizens. In the period under review, over one
thousand (1 ,000) Petitions were received and laid on the table out of which a majority have beenfully considered
while the rest are pending in the Committee. The activities of the Committee have afforded citizens at least a
vent and in, most cases solution and remedies for infractions complained against.
17.
On oversight, the House has been able to expose corruption, inefficiency and waste in governance.
Huge sums of money running into trillions of Naira have been saved as a result of the robust oversight regime
currently in place. Major investigative hearings into fundamental issues were conducted in the period' under
review amongst which are fuel subsidy regime, aviation, capital market, non-remittance of revenues by MDAs
and non-implementation of Annual budgets.
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DEFICIENCIES:
(I)
Weak Committee Reportage on Referrals.
18.
Given the improvements in some House processes aimed at reducing legislative red tape, it must be
admitted that' the timeous reportage by House Committees on Bills and other matters referred to them for action
has been far from satisfactory. This has impacted negatively on the accomplishment of targets. Henceforth,
Committees will be sited for such breaches and sanctioned appropriately.
(i/)
Electronic Voting and e-System General.
19.
The objective of the House to put in place an efficiently functional electronic voting system has suffered
some set back, this has deprived the House of the several benefits accruing from the system. This is regrettable.
However feasibility has been completed and appropriate budgetary provisions made under the 2013 budget of
the FCT for the comprehensive rehabilitation and upgrading of the system both for the Chambers and other
ancillary infrastructure, the Ad-hoc Committee on e-parliament and FCF have been mandated to keep a close
tap on this project to ensure its successful execution.
(iiI)
Oversight Duplication.
20.
Whereas on the whole the oversight functions have recorded impressive results, in the course. of our
interaction, concerns had been expressed on the practice wheresome House Committees invite MDAs outside
their supervisory jurisdiction to their oversight meetings on routine non-contentious matters. I wish to state that
this is counterproductive.
21.
Accordingly in order to enhance better coordination and liaison amongst House Committees, the House
Committee on Rules and Business is hereby directed to expeditiously work out a framework of engagement to
ensure that these concerns are effectively addressed.
IMPORTANT NATIONAL CONCERNS:
22.
Honourable colleagues, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is crucial for us to remind ourselves all
the time that the Legislature is one out of the three arms of the democratic government and therefore we must
endeavour to seek legislative perspectives from which we can contribute to the resolution of critical national
challenges. Today a series of these challenges stare us in the face.
POOR DEMOCRATIC CULTURE:
23.
After fourteen years of uninterrupted practice of democracy we still suffer acute poverty of democratic
culture and practices. This is a challenge to all Nigerians but more so for those of us deeply concerned in the
democratic process and operation. We must place national interest above selfish interest, we must place objective
principles above parochialism and whims. We must deliberately promote a viable and transparent electoral
process. The right to opinion and dissent must be given space in our political discuss. Internal party democracy
is a sine qua non to the genuine development of democratic culture therefore as we work and walk towards 20 IS,
we ought to take the vow that all votes must count whether in intra party democratic processes or at the level
of inter party contests. True democracy does not happen lTy accident, it is therefore our duty as intimate
practitioners and beneficiaries of political patronage to be in the vanguard of the deepening of democracy. The
people of Nigeria desire and deserve this, it is right and honourable, we have a duty to deliver these noble
expectations.
THE CANKERWORMS OF POVERTY, UNEMPLOYMENT
AND INSECURITY:
24.
The vicious circle of unemployment, poverty and insecurity constitute a grave social malady in our body
politic. Sadly the debilitating insecurity situation has forced us to declare a war on consequences rather than
causes. For now it may be imperative to fight the consequences in order to create a conducive atmosphere for
the prosecution of the war against the causes. It is important to realize that along the line we must commence
the war against unemployment and poverty as a consolidation strategy. Agriculture provides for the nation the
sector with the shortest gestation period for job creation.
25.
Our national statistics reveal that 70 % of our population is engaged in agriculture, 20 % in services and
the remaining 10% in industry. It means the agriculture sector alone accoums for over 70 million Nigerians of
working age, even then over 65 million would be in subsistence agriculture where they are either grossly
underemployed or malemployed thus constituting a waste of the workforce because any employment that does
not offer a living wage is a manpower waste. This underemployment and malemploymeni is replicated in similar
proportion in the services and industry. The challenge before us is therefore not merely to create jobs but in fact
to recreate jobs lTy upgrading all those existing jobs that are indeed pretentious employments offering no living
wage. We certainty posses the capacity to attain this in good record time given proper focus. On our pan, a
couple of Bills are already before the House to address the issue of unemployment, poverty and insecurity.
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THE PACE, SUBSTANCE AND QUALITY OF GOVERNANCE:
26.
Our nation is living in unusual times and unusual times require drastic and unusual remedies. In setting
the pace of governance we must realise that we are grossly in arrears of our developmental expectations and
capacities. Our goals and targets must be' premised on our collective capacity rather the limited capacity of an
individual or a select few otherwise we will continue to promote waste. Our job design and job deplayment must
be functional and waste free. Going forward therefore we must begin to premise our job designs on our peculiar
unacceptable position on the rungs of the development ladder.
27.
The strategies that suit us are those of the successful. emerging economies and not the strategies of the
developed economies. The substance and quality of our governance must therefore either be intelligently original
or the intelligent adaption of what is relegam, right and proper. That way we shall be coasting home to the land
flowing with milk and honey,
CONCLUSION:
28.
My dear colleagues, distinguished invited guests, beloved Nigerians, the challenges may be daunting
we are sure to berth because we possess the capacity and all that we need is will, zeal and passion. We therefore
must never despair for ifwe chose we are well able to accomplish. I am confideni that though it may have been
a long walk, soan and very soon, Nigeria will rise up with the wings of the eagle and in that day no height nor
distance shall be unassailable. God's love for our dear nation will accomplish this.
29.
Once more, I welcome you to the 7th House of Representatives second anniversary celebration, most
especially our guest speakers and invited guests, and hope all that will transpire here today will benefit our
people and grant all the institutions of State veritable impetus for greater heights.
30.
Thanks you all and God bless.
Mr Speaker called on invited Speakers to give their appraisal remarks of the House in the last two years in the
following order:
(I)
Prof. Jonah Isawa Elaigwu
General Appraisal
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE FEDERAL REPUBliC OF
NIGERIA AND ITS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA: A TENTATIVE ASSESSMENT
The Rt Hon. Speaker, Han. Members, distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
A.
INTRODUCTION
I would like to salute the Han. Speaker and Hon. Members of this House of Representatives on this
particular 2nd Anniversary of the 7th National Assembly; and therefore the 7th House of
Representatives. May the Good Lord continue to give you the wisdom to make laws with patriotism,
discipline and a high sense of nationalism in the interest of the people of our beloved nation.
Let me thank you Mr Speaker, for inviting me to give a keynote address on this occasion. I have never
been a politician, a lawmaker or representative of a community. I am a retired teacher whose reward
is in heave; but I am not in a hurry to collect the reward yet. However, as a political scientist, the
whole political arena is my laboratory; and unlike Chemist, Zoologist and others, I do not need to buy
much equipment in that lab. Thank God the politicians serve as my dignified specimens.
It was Edmond Burke, who once said:
"Your representative owes you not only his industry but judgment; and he betrays this instead
of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion" .
In other words, you are elected as representatives of the people to take judgment on their behalf based
on informed decisions, based on facts or information. You are not supposed to be here taking decisions
on behalf of the people in response to populism. Certain things you take on may not be popular; but you
would not have betrayed the interest of the people if your judgments are in their interest, even if they
have not seen it today. Providence will justify your actions tomorrow.
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Hon. Speaker, it is very easy as an analyst to play the armchair critic. lfyou want to know, the best
football players are the spectators in the stadium. Look at when Kenya and Nigeria were playing afew
days ago. lfyou went to Nyanya, Kubwa or any of the public areas where they actually watch public
television; if a player misses the opportunity to score they would say, oh! that simple goal, he could
have just kicked it in now! And then you would hear another person say, my God, imagine the
imaginate! Please do not ask me what that means.
I am going to be as objective as I can within the context of information available to me. But whatever
assessment I give today is a tentative assessment, because this is a Mid-Term Report; and my
understanding is that our assessment of the Mid-Term Report is to encourage you to do better than you
have done in the past two years. Perhaps if you do not mind, I would try as courageously as possible
to expose my ignorance so that you are not ignorant of my understanding.
Perhaps, the 7th House of Representatives has distinguished itself in a number of ways. First, the
manner in which it elected its Rt. Hon. Speaker, Alh. Aminu Tambuwal, in an unconventional
multi-party platform, defying even the internal zoning formula of the majority party, has remained
unique in the political history of Nigeria since 1999. What is even more interesting is the ability of the
House to collectively defend the independence of the legislature and maintain its cohesiveness against
all odds.
Secondly, I salute the response of the 7th House to issues of national importance. With regard to the
national strike over petroleum subsidy, the House called an emergency meeting on a Sunday, a holy day
for many, in spite of dissuasions from many quarters. I may be wrong, but I do not remember any
Chamber of the National Assembly summoning a meeting of its members on a Sunday, since 1999.
Congratulations!
In this speech, I would like to see if we can answer the following questions? How has the House
performed in the last two years? What have been some of its challenges? How can it overcome these
challenges? What are the prospects in the next two years of the performance of the House with regard
to its legislative agenda.
B.
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: FROM PROROGATION TO SELF-ASSERTION
1.
A Background
Even though writers and members of the public (all over the world) refer to government as
meaning the executive branch, government includes - the legislature, the executive and the
judiciary. Given the nature of the junctions of the executive branch, most people tend to think
of government as referring to the executive branch. In a democracy, the three arms are
interlocking in their junctions and our 1999 Constitution, provides for checks and balances
among these arms. There is thus the necessity for harmony among the three arms of
government, even though conflicts among them are inevitable, from time to time.
The history of the legislature in Nigeria is a chequered one. The legislature is the most
traumatized of all arms of government, Since its loss of innocence in January 1966, the
military engaged (like sex) in political promiscuity. It became a predatory institution,
imploding with reckless abandon into the political arena - thus rendering extremely fragile the
boundary between the ballot box and the barracks - an essential component ujWestern liberal
democracy.
Thus the military ruled Nigeriafrom January 15, 1966 - October 1979; from December 31st
1983 -August 27, 1993; andfrom November 17, 1993 to May 29, 1999. In all these cases, the
National Assembly (i.e the legislature) was suspended or prorogued. The cumulative effect of
this was (a) the loss of legislative continuity; (b) the lack of a legislative culture; (c) low
emphasis on building an active legislative administrative machinery; and (d) the low level of
values necessary to oil the wheel of democracy, especially in relation to the other arms of
government.
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In essence, by May 29, 1999, at the beginning of the Fourth Republic, the legislature-was the
most disadvantaged of the three arms of government. While the Military Executive had
operated without legislative checks, Its 'democratic' successor had also not imbibed the values
of checks and balances instituted by the democratic Constitution of 1999. One remembers,
therefore, the gallant and honorable defence of the independence of the legislature by Hon.
Ghali Na 'abbah, the Hon. Speaker (1999 - 2003) of the House of Representatives, under
GeneralOlusegun Obasanjo's presidency. May be Historians and Social Scientists should
study this period as an illustration of the pains of transition - from authoritarian to
'democratic' government.
2.
The 7th National Assembly: Towards Tentative Assessment
For our purposes, the Legislator or Member of the House of Representatives has three basic
junctions - law-making, over-sight and representation. Let us see how the 7th House has
fared in these areas. Please note, this assessment here are tentative and are based only on
available evidence.
(a)
Law-making: From available evidence, it is clear that the 7th House has been
proactive and active. The National Assembly is empowered to make laws for " ...
Peace, order and good governance of the federation or any part thereof with respect
to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List .v." (Constitution, 1999, sect.
4 (2»
Within the period of two years. both the House Representatives and the Senate have
passed 11 Bills. These include the Appropriation Bill, 2012, the Terrorism
(Prevention) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2012; the Harmonized Retirement Age of Staff of
Polytechnic and Colleges of Education Bill, 2011; the State of the Nation Address
Bill, 2011; the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2012; the
Transfer of Convicted Offenders (Enactment and Enforcement) (Amendment) Bill,
2011 and others.
Secondly, there is another set of Bills passed by the House and sent to the Senate.
There are about 33 of these Bills, out of which only 9 were sponsored by the
Executive branch. Among these are - Institute of Mediation and Conciliation Bill,
2011; Investmenr and Securities (Amendment) Bill, 201 1; Office of the Nigerian
Ombudsman Bill, 2011; the Nigerian International Centre (Establishment, etc.) Bill,
2011; Dispute Resolution Regulation Commission (Establishment) Bill, 201 1, through
the National Climate Change Commission Bill, 2011; the Nigerians with Disabilities
Bill, 2011; the National Health Insurance Commission Bill; to the Nigerian
Communications Satellite Bill; the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa
(Establishment, etc.) Bill, 2012; the Witness Protection Bill, 2012; the Senior
Citizens Centre Bill, 2011, and others.
The Third category of Bills are those in progression in the House. These amount to
over 360 Bills at different stages of progression - (not stated in any order here):
Bills
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
awaiting Second Reading;
yet to be Reported out of Committee;
negatived;
laid on the table;
referred to relevant committees;
consolidated and awaiting second Reading;
debate adjourned; and
consolidated debate deferred or adjourned.
A few bills were withdrawn.
Given this Law-Making record in two years, it must be admitted that the 7th House
of Representatives has been very active.
(b)
Oversight
Various House Committees have carried out oversight
functions over the relevant
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It is, however, important to note, that the House has invited the Security agencies a
number of times to explain and account for the various threats to security of lives and
property. In its sensitivity to matters of public interest and/or national importance,
the House conducted a public hearing on the Security and Exchange Commission
(SEC) and the Petroleum, Subsidy funds, among others.
(c)
Representation - Honorable members have apparently been sensitive to events
happening in their constituencies and in other places in the nation. An analysis of the
petitions handled and the Resolutions passed gives an interesting indication of the
representation function carried out by the 7th House. Since October 2011, the House
has received over 42 petitions, most of which it has handled except for those cases
in courts of law or those which have been transcended by events and/for time. Among
these petitions are - petitions for wrongful dismissal/retirement; non-adherence to
due process in award of contracts; against the police for murder; against National
Universities Commission for wrongful suspension; and many others.
The Resolutions are very interesting. Within the period, there were 126 Resolutions,
from available documents. Among these are Resolutions on the poor state of roads;
floods; kerosene scarcity, labour strike over non-implementation of N18,OOO
minimum wage; the bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja; youth
unemployment and restiveness in Nigeria; the need for every Ministry, Department
or Agency of Government to set up a Legislative Compliance Desk; the Declaration
of State of Emergency in 15 Local Government Areas in 4 States; unjustified incessant
killings - of Nigerians in different parts of the country; honour of Fallen heroes; to
stop the Presidency from bringing World Bank Officials to vet Federal Government
contracts; the implementation of fiscal Responsibility Act; Non-Implementation of
Budget and many others.
It is interesting that for continuity of legislative action, the House resolved to
"circulate clean copies of all Bills that had been read the Third time and were
awaiting concurrence in the Assembly for reconsideration in the Committee of the
Whole House" (HR. 18/2011).
In the constitutional execution of its appropriationjunctions, the House has been very
meticulous about screening the executive's budgetary proposals and its record of
budget implementation. In the recent bill for the declaration of the state of emergency
in three Northeastern states (Borno, Yobe and Adamawa), the house exhibited its
skills for details. It identified and opposed any provision for the confiscation of state
funds.
Thus, from law-making, through its oversight functions to its role of representation,
the House has been active, proactive, sensitive to the people 'sfeelings and responsive
to issues of national importance. Its mid-term Report, from evidence available is very
positive. It should provide a basis for more and positive action in the next half of its
legislative term. I therefore, score the House 65%, a good B+.
C.
CHALLENGES
The good record of the th House of Representatives does not go without challenges. It will be
dishonest to give the impression that the House had no challenges in the course of carrying out
its duties. and problems to which it must find solutions. Let me refer to a few of these:
1.
Law-Making: The law-making process requires high level of capacity and
information. This means that legislative aides must develop a high level of capacity
to assist their bosses to make informed choices. The era of docile coterie of relatives
as legislative aides is gone. Skilled and technologically well-equipped aides are now
an imperative for efficiency and speed in legislation.
2.
Efficacy of Resolutions: There are many laudable Resolutions passed by the House.
To what extent are these Resolutions effective? What are their impacts? Since the
Legislature and the Executive are part of one government, could a political solution
be worked out between the two arms of Government to ensure efficacy of
implementation of House Resolutions? The cases of Dr Oteh of the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC): Mrs Onazaruwa of the Public Ememrises Bureau. and
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1.027
Alh. Maina belligerence over Pension funds. show a big gUlf between the two arms
of One government, serving the people. It is embarrassing! This gap must be closed
for purposes of accountability and transparency in the system.
3.
Oversight Functions are very good in keeping officials of the Executive arm on their
toes. However. given the scandals which followed the public hearings on SEC and
the fuel subsidy fund. the House may want to tighten its processes based on what it
has learnt from these experiences. The objectives of such public hearings must not be
allowed to be defeated by allegations of rent-seeking behaviour among its members.
The adage goes. those who come to equity. must come with clean hands. This is not
to give legitimacy to all allegations made against panelists at public hearing in order
to divert attention and stop desirable proceedings.
4.
Legislative Culture and Experience: In many legislatures around the world. the
importance of continuity and accumulation of legislative culture and experience is
regarded as important. In our country the attrition/tum-over rate of member of the
legislature seem to be very high. In 2003. about 80% of members of the National
Assembly did not return. In 2011. only 100 members out of 360 members of the
House of Representative were re-elected. Yes. our peculiar situation responds to
constituency demands for zoning or rotation. and manyother factors. But this is a
problem to which we have. to find a solution.
5.
Independence/Autonomy
of the legislature: This is a perennial problem in the life
of the legislature. However. let me recommend that the annual budget of the
legislature must cater for their oversight functions. Under no circumstances should
legislators depend on Ministries. Departments and/or Agencies under their aegis for
funds - tickets. estacodes, accommodation and others. For effective oversight
functions, these must be fully provided by the National Assembly.
6.
Politicians as Statesmen: Once elected. politicians must make a quick transition to
being statesmen. and states women representing everyone - including those who did
not vote for you and are in the opposition party. Our problem is that we have too
many elected politicians and too few statesmen and women. We must show nobility
and grace in victory. ifwe expect those who lost elections to show gallantry in defeat.
7.
Obeying Laws: All Nigerians. whether they are law-makers or not. must obey the
law. As Abraham Lincoln once observed:
"Let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample on the blood
of his father. and to tear that charter of his own~
his children's liberty".
D.
~peal
Finally. permit me to make a few appeals to you as my leaders and representatives:
1.
Political Class and Violence: From available evidence. politicians across political .
parties are the greatest generators of violence. Using unemployed young men. they
have democratized violence and made life insecure for the average Nigerian. Let me
appeal. through you. Honourable members. to all politicians to stop this act.
Perhaps. not many politicians realize that violence is an ill wind that blows no one
any good. Like a bush-fire. violence has a way of consuming the house of those who
ignited the fire. We have seen that those who created thugs found to their chagrin that
these have become monsters over which they lack control. More importantly. the
greater the level of violence and apparent chaos in the polity; the higher the chances
of military intervention. It will be a suicide for the political class. Please. let us allow
our leaders to make genuine mistakes and correct these without military intervention.
Such mistakes must not include copious and illegal dispensation of violence to
opponents.
2.
History: Let us introduce History courses in all our Secondary Schools from ISS 1
- SS 3. History gives young people a sense of identity and confidence to face the
future.
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Thursday, 6 June, 2013
3.
No. 99
The Old National Anthem: After the civil war. the military regime perhaps felt that
Nigeria, as a Nation state, had come to stay, and changed the National Anthem to
a new one which calls everyone to lofty and patriotic values. However, the
experiences of the last twenty years, with ethnic, ethno-religious, communal and
other form of violence, have shown that the integrative web we took. for granted,
have been more fragile that we had thought.
Let us therefore revisit the old National Anthem, with a sense of patriotism, discipUne
and nationalism. The logic that it was written by a foreigner is weak, because we
have not changed the name of Nigeria, given by Lord Lugard's mistress. Let us
reproduce the old anthem which very much reflects our current situation:
Let us revisit the old National Anthem, given the exigencies of Nigeria's current
situation.
Nigeria, we hail thee,
Our own dear native land,
Though tribe and tongue may differ,
In brotherhood we stand,
Nigerians all, are proud to serve
our sovereign motherland.
Our flag shall be a symbol,
That truth. and justice reign,
In peace or battle honoured,
And this we count as gain.
To hand on to our children
A banner without stain.
o Lord
of all creation,
Grant this our one request
Help us to build a nation
Where no man is oppressed;
And so, with peace and plenty,
Nigeria may be blessed.
We therefore must collectively resolve to 'build a nation where no man is oppressed, a land blessed with
'peace and plenty'.
My dear Hon. Members, you may want to study the two National Anthems. You must have the courage
like we had to change from the old to the new; to change from the new to the old if it is not relevant to
our current experience.
In conclusion therefore, let me congratulate the Hon. Speaker and his Colleagues, the Hon. Members
of this hallowed Chamber, for doing a good job in mid-term, in law making, oversight and
representation. It has defended its legislative independence. It has operated as a cohesive legislative
collective, which has been pro-people and pro-nation. Congratulations! I wish you all a more fruitful
journey to the future. I must say, given the right challenges to be faced, these challenges are many, but
I believe that with your determination, patriotism, discipline and good public relations, none of these
challenges are insurmountable.
As I sit down, may I do what I have been doing in the past two years, appealing to my audience; if one
person in my audience remembers one thing that affects him I am glad. To quote Mahatma Gandhi:
"The things that would destroy us are politics without principle, pleasure without conscience,
wealth without work, knowledge without character, business without morality, science without
humanity and worship without sacrifice" .
God bless you all!
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!
Thursday,
No. 99
(ii)
Prof. Chidi Odinka1u
PRESENTATION
LEGISLATIVE
6 June, 2013
1,029
An Appraisal of the Legislative Agenda of the House of
Representatives
BY PROF. CHIDI ODINKALU ON 'APPRAISAL OF THE
AGENDA OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES'
Mr Speaker, Hon. Members, fellow citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria andfriends of our dear
country, good afternoon. Can I once again please bow before the majesty of the will of the Nigerian
people and thank you the Rt Hon. Speaker for this rare privilege to be part of this dialogue with our
people today.
Let me also congratulate every Hon. Member here present and the predecessors in this Chamber. I
thank the Almighty God for the facility of being here today, the gift of life and the wisdom to represent
our people and to accomplish that with the passion and diligence that you have devoted to that.
After listening to Prof. Elaigwu, my job is done. I think it would be an anticlimax to inflate myself on
you. I therefore propose to be quite brief. Like him, I am a teacher, clearly from a different generation,
inspired by his generation; and unlike him, I am only an occasional teacher and an occasional public
servant and episodic lawyer. The only predictable basis therefore on which I address you this
afternoon, is that of a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and that is what I propose to do.
As Prof Elaigwu said, we have had 52 years of independence. 29 of them under military rule and only
22 under civilian rule with a parliament.
He has also addressed the fact of the multiple role of a
Parliament in a democracy and dwelt on three - Law-making, Oversight and Representation. I want
to put two more on the table. The responsibility of appropriations and the fundamental role of
Parliament in the defects of the values of democratic government. Because here resides the popular will
of the Nigerian people. And as I said that can I please, respectfully apply to acknowledge the people
who represent me here? Hon. Jerry Alagboso is my representative before this Chamber. I have the
rare privilege of claiming more than one representative here. Hon. Beni Lar, represents my
constituency too and Hon. Ali Ahmad, also represents my constituency and he knows why. Also where
I reside, Hon. Jumoke Okoya-Thomas represents me.
The Legislative Agenda announced on the 27th of June, 2011 was ambitious and audacious. It identifies
seven priorities with respect to the economy, jobs, national security, energy sector reform,
anti-corruption, tackling poverties, addressing the MDGs and constitutional reform. On each and every
one of these, there have been accomplishments that can be justified.
Professor Elaigwu in his presentation has earlier addressed the question of defence of the independence
of Parliament as a credible and co-equal partner in government and I do not want to dwell any much
more on that. But the numbers are quiet impressive; 60 Bills passed in two years, an average of 30
Bills every year or 2'h Bills every month, that is with proof of effect. Out of 49 Public Petitions are
85 % completion rate. 134 pending Bills in advanced stages of completion. Several notable Bills; the
Crime (Prevention) Act of2011 and the amendment of2013; the Violence against Persons (Prohibition)
Bill; the Money Laundry (Prohibition) Act; the National Econamics Intelligence Committee
(Establishment) Act; the State of the Union Address Bill, which isfundamental in my view, the Nigeria
Disability Bill, the Climate Change Commission Bill; the Investment and Securities (Amendment) Bill
and of course, we cannot forget the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, 2013.
With respect to oversight, it has been tremendous and widely judged to be innovative and I have to
acknowledge here the Standing Committee on the Reform of Government Institutions, otherwise known
as the Committee on Free Information Bill or the Freedom of Information Act. That is a wise innovation
and it is forthright and I do think this honourable Chamber deserves utmost commendation for that.
There has also been tremendous innovation in the development of the hydrocarbon sector and also
justice, safety, security and intelligence and how those ones are now interrelated with one another.
Oversight therefore has been a site of tremendous activity and I will deal with that shortly as I round
off.
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No. 99
Economy and appropriations are still again another area of activity and what many people do not
acknowledge or have not acknowledge is the concern of this honourable Chamber to the passage of the
Medium Term Expenditure Framework, which governs the Fiscal Frameworkfor Appropriation process
and administration and governance of our economy. The Medium Term is central to the future of our
country to making sure that there is a proper bearing between recurrent expenditure, capital
expenditure, investment development and the future of our people and the elimination of poverty.
2013 was thefirst year in which the Appropriation Acts was passed before we entered into the new fiscal
year; that is imponant; and it is also a remarkable achievement. It shows therefore that we can make
progress in making sure that our appropriation process and the governance of our fiscal processes and
the economy is improved.
There are clearly very many outstanding Bills and Motions. Many of them were dealt with in the
Constitution Amendment process. The report of this House when it gets to be dealt with would be
watched by our country with tremendous expectation. There is also the Petroleum Industry Bill, which
is now pending, and the innovation of having hearings in the constituencies of not just the Petroleum
Industry Bill led by the Chief Whip, but also with the Constitution amendment led by the Rt Han. Deputy
Speaker, has been quite innovative. Seeking dialogue with our people in very active way and getting
the people to input into the processes by which those very importam dialogues and decisions are taken
here. Always ultimately, the judgment resides with those of you who have the legitimacy of the ballot,
and that is very important,
There is also action on jobs that is outstanding - the Skill Acquisition and the Development Trust Fund
(Establishment) Bill is still pending and our young people who are confronted with the problem of
unemployment look to you for action on that and quickly too. But as we retrospect, we must also look
to the future and as has already been said this morning we face serious challenges as a country. The
Rt Han. Speaker has already set the tone. You are not here to preside over the failure of our State, and
to do that, the people require inspiration and leadership.
Under Section 14 of our Constitution, the primary purpose of government is the safety and security of
our country and all who live and transact business in it. That is serious business. This is because
today, the safety and security of our country is in danger. The territory of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria is disputed and you have it in your hands to provide leadership in how we tackle that problem
to guarantee that we remain one united Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I am a child of the Nigerian Civil war, and for me, protecting our people is not negotiable. When we
deploy security forces, we must do so with due regard for the well-being of our people, for the human
rights of our people and for the dignity of the communities that our security forces have to protect.
Therefore, in my view, one major agenda for this Chamber going forward by which our people will
judge it, is what you do with respect to safety and security. I have two suggestions to put on to the
Table and some of them are already receiving attention here.
Firstly, is that the oversight of the conduct of security forces has to be dealt with seriously and openly
and Nigerians have to participate. You have to listen to our communities and take them seriously.
Secondly, urgent action is needed on all measures dealing with policing. The Nigerian Police Force
needs help. Our Police men and women work under the most impossible conditions. The Nigerian
Police Force has men and women who will require and expect to give us dignity. Many of you in this
Chamber are protected by Police men and women who cannot afford to buy their own uniforms. We
need to give our Police officers the dignity that they require ifwe expect them to give Nigerians dignity.
Appropriations for our Police must be improved. The way we treat our Police Force is unacceptable,
and we need to change it. To change it, we need to upgrade their dignity. When we do that, we would
get better service. This is because we are not supporting our Police properly, we have out-sourced to
other services jobs that Police should do.
The Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not replacement for the Nigerian Police Force
and we need to acknowledge that and do that openly. We must defend the integrity and professionalism
of our Armed Forces to do what the army exists to do - Protect us against external enemies and to
re-inforce us when we have internal problems, but we should not make a habit of that. At the moment,
we are close to doing that and that may not be good for our democracy or the authority of the civilians
who provide us with political leadership.
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Thursday, 6 June, 2013
1,031
Thirdly, going towards the future, citizenship and equality is a major issue. We look to this honourable
House to protect Nigerians; not to protect indigenes and settlers. In this country today, there is only
one minority - the Nigerian. We are indigenes and settlers; northemers, southerners; Christians,
Muslims; men, women; militants and terrorist. There is no Nigerian left. We look to this honourable
House, and I love the way Professor Elaigwu made the point, to return to us the sense of a country
where loyalty and identity is defined via shared citizenship. The idea that a State Government can expel
from his workforce Nigerians who have worked in itfor 30 years, and tell them, at the point where they
are entitled to pensions that they have been working as settlers, and therefore must go without dignity,
without pensions, and without pay has to be stopped. You must find some ways to address that.
Finally, setting the tone for our country is imponani. My egbon - Femi Falana is going to deal with
the issue of Public Perception of the 7th House of Representatives, but this House has to address its
perception because ultimately that is where it all resides.
The kind of action that we expect as citizens, with respect to corruption needs to be upped and
improved. We do sincerely look up to this honourable House to provide the moral tone in addressing
impunity for grand corruption, because the poverty in the country is too much. And the citizens cannot
beg to continue to live with this degree of grinding poverty,
The way to do it is to make the point that nobody is above the law. Nobody should be beneath too.
There should be concerted action; if there are members who are found wanting, they should be dealt
with and openly too. And in doing that, the processes of ethics of the House should be made more
transparent and open, so that Nigerians can see that this House is serious. This is because politics and
leadership is also about the symbolism of how we do things, and it is importani that our people see that
this hon. House is prepared to provide leadership in decency.
In ending, I need to say that for this House to work, the well-being of those who staff it, needs also to
be addressed. We have seen the side of the personnel of the House protesting and in my human right
capacity I defend the rights of workers to strike. But it is also imponant that in a place like this where
Nigerians look up to you for leadership to ensure that we do not have a situation in which labour
disagreements cannot be managed adequately. This is because if that is the case, it becomes difficult
for us to trust that the bigger issues that challenge our country receive the kind of attention that they
do.
As I go to sit down, I suspect a lot of people would be disappointed if I say nothing about the Same-Sex
Bill. Let me be very clear. Same-Sex Marriage is not lawful in Nigeria. And it is not recognised as
lav.ful even if contracted in another country, under our laws. As the Representatives of our people, it
is imponani that you defend the values of our communities in law making. And Nigerians would stand
by you when you do so fonhrightly.
In our country, marriage is the relationship between men and women. That is how we have understood
it. However, the Bill as passed raised some issues of privacy; dignity and associational rights that in
my capacity as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, I wish to put on the Table.
The one that concerns me is the prohibition of public displays of affection between people.
In this country, our family values have always coexisted with public shows of compassion. I am a
father. I have a son who is a teenager but much bigger than me. I have a daughter, who is a pre-teen,
but also bigger than me.
Since I came into this Chamber today I have hugged a lot of men. I also hug my son who is bigger than
me. I do not want us to get into a society in which I can no longer hug my brother, the Rt Hon. the
Deputy Speaker or the Speaker, because I am wondering whether or not somebody is thinking serious
thoughts about my sexualism. We need to try and address that kind of consciousness.
In this Chamber today as I round off, I think we need to find a way to clean that up; over enthusiastic
enforcement may be a danger in the Bill as passed. And there is an opportunity to remove language
that could lead to over enthusiastic enforcement, That is the point that I really would like to put on the
Table. This is because some day you would not be a member of this honourable House; and law
enforcement officers could abuse some of the language in the Bill. But I want to make myself clear.
Same-Sex Marriage is not lawful under Nigeria law. I want to be clear about that.
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No. 99
Let me therefore go take my seat and as I do so, I wish you well. I wish our people well and pray for
you because you have a difficult job. We all wish you well as Nigerian citizens. We would like our
country to do well and for our country to do well, we would like you to do well too.
May God bless you; bless our Constitution and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
(iii)
Dr Abubakar Saddique Mohammed -
An Appraisal of the Legislative/Executive
in Nigeria)
PRESENTATION BY DR ABUBAKAR SADDlQUE MOHAMMED
'AN APPRAISAL OF THE LEGISLATIVE/EXECUTIVE
RELATIONSHIP IN NIGERIA
Relationship
ON
The Hon. Speaker, Hon. Members, Distinguished Senators, Ladies and Gentlemen. As announced by
Mr Speaker, my paper is on An Appraisal of the Legislative/Executive Relations in Nigeria.
It is an interesting topic given our history; and what I would do is not to repeat what my teacher has
done. Men I saw Prof Elaigwu, and he started speaking, I said what am I going to add to what he had
said?
Prof Elaigwu taught me in Part 2 in 1975 at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He hadjust come back
from the United States with his Ph.D.; so he taught us Federalism.
Executive/Legislative relationship is a very wide area. It encompasses diverse actors and actions.
Scholars of the subject tend to be partisans of the institution they studied. So, those who studied the
Executive will tend to marry the Executive. Indeed, they prefer that more description is granted to those
who studied them. Those who studied the Executive disapprove of the meddlesomeness of the
Legislature, in matters that they think should be better left in the hands of the knowledgeable and the
experienced.
They want the Legislature to concentrate on a broader scale and more coordinated supervision of the
Executive rather than its preoccupation with details. Those who are partisans of the legislature are
advocates of accountability and responsiveness to statutory guidelines. Mere the existing supervision
has not yielded the expected result, they argue more of it would do the trick. And if done better, the
result would be more accountability and responsiveness.
People like Justus Mills, Woodrow Wilson, were the partisans of the Legislature and I would quote what
Justus Mills wrote about the Legislature.
He said:
"The proper office of a representative Assembly is to watch and control the government to
throw the light of publicity on its acts; to compel a full exposition and justification of all of
them which any one considers questionable; to sanction them if found condemnable and if the
man who controls the government abuse their trust, to expel them from office and either
expressly or virtually appoint their successor (in other words, impeach them)".
Woodrow Wilson added:
"Quite as important as legislation is vigilant oversight of administration, it is the proper duty
of a representative body to look diligently into every affair of government and to own much
about what he says. It means it is meant to be the eyes and the voice and to embody the
wisdom and will of its constituents. The informing function of Congress should be preferred
even to their legislative functions".
The rationale for legislative oversights and their consequences according to him include educating and
informing the public and representing constituents and citizens' interest. Even more important than
legislation is instruction and guidance in political affairs, which the people might receive from a body
which kept all national consensus view in a broad daylight.
If we look at the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we will see that the Legislative arm
has powers to make laws, to control of the public funds, investigation, approve or reject appointments
and even remove public officers. The powers of the Executive arm are also spelt out in Section 5.
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Thursday, 6 June, 2013
1,033
It is clear from the powers given to the National Assembly that theoretically, the framers of the 1999
Constitution have given the Legislature considerable powers of oversight. in that the powers conferred
on the two Chambers of the National Assembly are such that no unit of government could function
without due authorisation, support and cooperation of the legislators. There is virtually no section of
the Nigerian Constitution where the National Assembly is not mentioned. The reality is however
different and we will see this when we look at the relationship between the Executive and the Legislature
since 1999.
Between 1999 and 2007. I would argue that the Presidency effectively subordinated the Legislature.
Speaker, Senate President, Senate Leaders, other Principal Officers of the Senate were routinely
appointed and dismissed by Aso Rock. Salisu Buhari of course, had to go because he was found guilty
of some infractions; Ghali Na 'Abba took over; Aminu Bello Masari came in.
The removal of the Principal Officers of the National Assembly such as the Speaker, the Senate
President would not have been possible without the acquiescence of Members of the National Assembly
itself. Indeed, the House of Representatives was intimidated through the use of a number of instruments
to achieve this acquiescence, including intimidation by the EFCC, enticement through contract and
outright bribery through the use of Ghana Must Go. At least the former Vice-President, AtikuAbubakar
gave an interview in which he detailed how Members of the House were bribed in order to elect the
Speaker of the House and to also elect the President of the Senate. But before the end of that very
particular House, some attempts were made to assert the independence of the House. This is what
Professor Elaigwu mentioned the attempt by Ghali Na 'Abba and the rest to actually assert the
independence of the House. It was too little too late. But their action was such that it shook the
Executive President, to use the Nigerian terminology.
When they started to assert their independence and they threatened to impeach the President, I
remember President Obasanjo came on air and said it was a joke which is being taken too far. When
they persisted in what they were doing, he lost weight and had to go back to mobilise people to
intervene in the matter to save the Presidency. I said it was too little too late precisely because just
before the tenure of that House came to an end, the same President was here to say that those Members
who tried to do what they had wanted to do and not to toe the party line will pay dearly during the next
election and many of them did not come back to the House. In fact, not up to 10 per cent of the
1999"2003 Members of the House actually came back. I think Professor Elaigwu made mention of that.
The country paid dearly for that, the economy was not properly handled because oversight functions
were not allowed to be performed.
The attempt to build solid democracy also suffered, national
patrimony was dished out under the guise of privatisation, billions were voted for poverty alleviation
with nothing to show for it except increase in crimes and deepening poverty, impunity became the order
of the day and we are paying the price for it.
Then, between 2007 and 2011. two tendencies were discernible at least in the House of Representatives.
Han. Etteh was imposed by the Executive; that is how we see it from outside. The House fought back
and Dimeji Bankole was elected. They came back during the doctrine of necessity to actually do what
is expected of them to save the country from instability despite their initial procrastination.
When we look at 2011 to the present day. we have seen the National Assembly especially House of
Representatives which appears to be more willing and capable to assume the powers with regards to
the election of its leaders, the budget, emergency rule, erring technocrat, oversight functions, and
holding of Ministers accountable to their roles. We have seen that the series of public hearings did
exactly what is expected of Members of the House. They educated people on the issues they were
enquiring, people got information, Members were asked to account for what they have done and at least
once, they insisted that their findings should be respected in the case of Arunma Oteh, because they
refused to release money from what we read in the newspapers, for the functioning of that very
particular Agency.
However, that is not enough. The fact that the House has questioned erring technocrats, the fact that
the House has actually passed the Emergency Bill and amended it to ensure that human rights was
respected and so on and soforth is not enough. It is one thing to pass a law, it is one thing to authorise
the President to actually declare a State of Emergency, but it is another for that State of Emergency to
respect human rights.
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Just when I came in here, somebody sent me an e-mail. It was pictures of Nigerians queuing up in the
Republic of Niger to sign as refugees. All of those interviewed claimed that soldiers were killing people
indiscriminately. So it is not enough for Members of the House to pass a State of Emergency Act to
insist that human rights should be respected and actually sit in the House without actually going there
or creating a means to go there and find out whether its Resolutions and laws are being respected.
Why is it that the Executive was able to subordinate the House until recently? This is common with
transition, moving from authoritarian rule to democracy. Authoritarian rule tends to be centralized.
This country as Professor Elaigwu mentioned has gone through three decades of military rule. It
brought unitary command mentality and at the same time, throughout those 30 years of our military
rule, there was no House of Assembly in any of the States and also at the center. The mentality was
also embedded in the Executive arm, which gained respect during the military era.
The Judiciary also suffered from the erosion of its own powers. In fact, a Judge in Ghana told me that
from the first day there was a coup d'etat in that country, the Supreme Court of Ghana transformed
itself into a Court of Appeal. His argument was that you cannot have Supreme Court when the military
can go back and actually enact a decree to overturn whatever judgment you have given. So, the
Supreme Court in Nigeria was there, but it was only supreme in name in some cases.
All these things brought about the sharp conflicts we saw between the Legislature and the Executive.
The constitutional checks of the Executive arm became an irritant, all the more so, with ex-Military
Head of State as President. The Executive branch as a whole has more resources than the National
Assembly. The President as an elected person appoints Ministers and many other Aides who are
directly responsible to him. In preparation of Bills, the Executive arm is far more effective as it already
has an agency in the Ministry of Justice to do so. The Attorney-General or Minister of Justice being
a member of the Federal Executive Council has more insight into the thinking of government and
therefore, this can be speeded up - his preparation.
Despite the fact that the National Assembly has Committees, which provide some specialization of
labour and the means to put an eye on the conduct of the administration, but these Committees are
affected by the inexperience of their Members and their discontinuous existence. The twin executive has
a large number of personnel at its disposal and extra offices linked to his office. But the Legislature
experience shortage of qualified personnel to undertake some of its specialized functions.
The President is in a better place to mobilize surreptitious and subterranean finance, otherwise to
achieve results in its conflict with the Legislature. How these surreptitious and subterranean means are
used depends on the issue at stake and the circumstance. For example, a Member of the House can be
intimidated by the Executive indirectly. I do not want to give examples of that. So, when you take the
balance of power between the Legislature and the Executive from 1999 to date, the balance of power
is actually in favour of the Executive for the various reasons that I have advanced. But it is changing;
it is not going to be forever.
As the other speakers before me have mentioned, with the activities of the current National Assembly
especially the House of Representatives, it is showing that it is actually increasingly gaining its
independence. The very moment I came in here, I perceived the difference, and it is not only because
I have seen so many buildings. It is true that intellects are increasingly coming in to the functions of
the House apart from the constructed debates.
One of the weaknesses of the House in relation to the Executive is simply disastrous because the
Executive always has the experts. lfyou are dealing with the petroleum industry we have the Ministry
of Petroleum Resources. lfyou are dealing with Mines. you have the Ministry of Mines with all the
expens and therefore, they can prepare well before they come into the House. In most cases, the
House does not have this kind of expertise, especially if it is a House in transition from authoritarian
rule and centralized authority. So, there are cases where the House will have to rely on what it is given
by the Executive and to allow the Executive to actually take the decisions, and even to perform, by
oversight functions could be very dangerous. Even in the United States, the Congress was once
deceived by the Executive.
During the Vietnam War, the newspapers kept on reporting that Americans were losing the war. The
morale of the troops was coming down; questionnaires were designed to actually administer to the
soldiers on the field, so that their feelings could be captured after the analysis. The questionnaires were
actually filled in America. They did not leave the United States to Vietnam. Then, wrong results were
given. The Congress realized later that it has been deceived by the part of the Executive.
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In summary. what has been happening in Nigeria since 1977 has been the incremental gaining of the
independence by the Legislature. which is increasingly reducing the influence. which the Executive has
over it. It is not going to be easy. because nobody gives out power easily. The Executive will fight to
ensure that the dominance it has over the legislature is not actually eroded. All forms of tricks will be
used to ensure that that is not arrived at. but the moment the Legislature can actually wrestle its own
independent if it is actually not far away from the people it is supposed to represent.
Remember that what we are running in Nigeria is representative democracy. Instead of Nigerians
coming together to take the powers themselves. they have entrusted you with that power to take
decisions on their behalf. lfthey realize that you are not representing them very well. you will lose your
credibility. When you lose your credibility. the Executive will actually remain dominant in the
relationship between it and the two Houses.
Thank you very much.
(iv)
Mr Femi Falana, SAN
Public Perception of the 7th House of Representatives
PRESENTATION BY MR FEMI FALANA, SAN, ON THE PUBLIC
PERCEPTION OF THE 7TH HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
My indefatigable Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Comrades and Friends.
The Progressive Members of the House.
To be very honest, if I had been invited in the past to cross-fertilize ideas with Members of the House
on an occasion like this, I might have turned down the invitation. But having identified with the 7th
House of Representatives as a body that works in the interest of the Nigerian people, that legislates on
behalf of Nigerians; and that has stood its ground, in spite of all temptations, to be relevant, Mr
Speaker, I am honoured to be here today.
I want to praise your courage and maturity in inviting me here knowing that I am not likely to praise
sing on this occasion, but for me, that also shows your level at commitment to the democratic process.
Therefore, I am going to congratulate and commend you like my colleagues have done, but I am also
going to warn you to be vigilant. Because as we are celebrating your success and we have cause to
do that, the enemies of our people - reactionary forces in our country are going to become more
desperate to discredit and demonise this House, but we are not going to allow that.
Mr Speaker, permit me to join my colleagues in congratulating you and your colleagues for doing our
country proudfor the first time since 1999 by exercising your free franchise to elea your leaders; it is
so fundamental. You did it and you have remained united; another powerful body that attempted itfew
days ago, you know what I mean did not come out with the same result. In the past. we had leaders
who were imposed by external forces for self-parochial interests to the detriment of the House and
Nigeria.
I therefore, want to wish you success and I do hope that just like you have distanced yourself as a House
from the stigma of in-shading, you are going to continue for the next two years to be relevant, to be
consistent and to be progressive. Prof Elaigwu has generously given you 65, very generously; andfor
me I think you deserve almost more than that, speaking very honestly.
Let me plead with you not to be blackmailed to drop any of the progressive legislations in this House;
and the more fundamental is the one on the Central Bank of Nigeria. Under Section 81 of the Nigeria
Constitution, the only Bill that comes here from the Executive under the Constitution; (others can come
from anywhere) the only one recognized by law, is Money Bill.
Section 81 states that:
The President shall prepare and lay before the National Assembly the Budget of the country.
No any other body is allowed. The Central Bank and the NNPC are not allowed to prepare their own
budget without bringing it to this House. Any Act of Parliament - the CBN Act of2oo7, the Petroleum
Act that purport to give both the CBN and the NNPC the power to budget for themselves; those
provisions are illegal and inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution. Therefore, do not be
blackmailed. You must exercise budgetary control over the CBN and the NNPC, in the interest of our
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1,036
Thursday, 6 June, 2013
No. 99
In 2009, the US House of Representatives passed HI 207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act,
otherwise known as the Audit of the Bill of Federal Bill to reform the manner in which the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited fly the Controller General of the United States and
the manner in which such audits are reported for other purposes. Even in America, the Federal Reserve
System is audited fly the Congress.
Therefore you are not doing anything out of the ordinory. You are simply performing your legislative
functions by insisting that the Central Bank bring its budget to the National Assembly and you must not
waiver in your commitment to do that.
Many Nigerians believe out there that the National Assembly is a home of money and that you are very
rich. You know when you go to your constituencies you are harassed and insulted fly members of your
constituency because they have been made to believe that the National Assembly out of the three arms
of Government is the only one that takes all the money of the country.
Prof. Itse Sagey (SAM, has maintained that the Federal Legislators in Nigeria are the highest paid in
the world. You have not done anything. The National Assembly has not challenged such statement.
Nigerians are therefore being led to believe that every month you go home withjumbo pay. The Federal
High Court in the case of NEPAD and National Assembly has directed that the National Assembly
should disclose the salary and allowances of the Members, and I think it is in your interest to do that,
so that the secrecy that surrounds your salary and allowances will become a thing of the past.
I therefore suggest that the appeal that had been filed against that judgment should be withdrawn. Let
Nigerians know what is going on. Last year when I did my study, the entire budget of the National
Assembly was N150 billion - Legislators and the Staff, including everybody. The Central Bank last
year budget was N300 billion. Yours was 50%, but the whole world was made to believe that you are
taking trillions at the end of the year. So you need to do something about that.
Some political interests partly out of ignorance have questioned the National Assembly for endorsing
and approving the State of Emergency imposed on three States in the country. I am saying this because
it is very important for all of us; that the provisions of the Constitution particularly Section 305, are not
made for decoration. That provision says, if there is a breakdown of law and order in any part of the
country or in the entire federation, the President can impose an emergency rule so as to adopt
extraordinary measures to restore law and order. So when you endorsed the imposition of emergency
rule, you were acting within your powers and it was very patriotic on your part.
The House of Representatives went further to the delight of Nigerians and all democratic force; when
you removed those provisions of the regulations that would have empowered the President to dip hands
into the statutory allocations of those States and Local Governments, in order to prosecute the war on
terror.
Under Section 162 of the Constitution, the statutory allocations of each unit of government belong to
that Department. No other agency or powerful person can touch it and that was the judgment of the
Supreme Court. What you did therefore was in line with the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case
of Attorney-General of Lagos State and Attorney-General of the Federation; when General Obasanjo
in his characteristic authoritarian manner decided to withhold the funds belonging to the Local
Governments in Lagos State, and the Supreme Court said no; no matter how powerful you are, th ou
shall not touch the funds of any department of the government. That is exactly what you did and I must
commend you for that.
However, I want to appeal to you with respect to the Emergency Rule. A lot of human right violations
are taking place. We want to appeal to you to set up a team to monitor what is going on in Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe States because right now, many of our citizens are becoming refugees in neighbouring
countries and we should not allow that.
The decision of the National Assembly to insist on the full implementation of the Annual Budget of the
country is indeed very commendable. Once the Appropriation Bill has been passed into law, the
question of coming here to say that they have done S6 per cent or 60 per cent implementation of the
budget is confirmation of impunity in our country. You are simply telling us that we have partially
complied with a law. It is barbaric and primitive. A law shall be fully implemented hundred percent.
You cannot say that in criminal law you have only complied fly 40 per cent then you would have anarchy
in your country.
No. 99
Thursday, 6 June, 2013
1,037
Therefore, having signed the Appropriation Bill of 20 13 to law, please reject any Motion; and I want
to commend you for what you did two days ago, by throwing back to the Presidency the attempt to
re-write the 2013 Budget. Notwithstanding, let me warn you that we are at the tail end of the second
quarter; that is end of June - the Second Quaner. If we are moving to the third quarter and we have
not sorted out the Budget for the year and five months later in November all the unspent funds shall go
back to the Treasury. This year ifwe are not careful we would witness the worst implementation of the
Budget of our country and I do hope the House of Representatives would not allow that.
In the exercise of your oversight functions, you have done marvelously well by helping us to expose
what has become systemic grand corruption in our country and you must continue. However I warn you,
when you fight corruption, corruption fights back and that has been your experience. They would lure
and tempt your Members, with a view to discrediting your Reports and that is why Mr Speaker, this
House must devise internal mechanisms for monitoring its Members when they are performing oversight
functions.
I want to appeal to you to help our country. So much funds belonging to our country do not go to the
Federation Account. Ministries and Departments of government collect hundreds of billions every year,
which find their way out of the Federation Account. In fact, they do not get there at all. I was just
doing some studies based on your concern in the last few days and I discovered one agency of
government that sells Admission forms. People are looking for admissions into the tertiary institutions
every year and it is four thousand Naira (N4,OOO.00) per form. This year, one million, seven hundred
and twenty-jive thousand (1,725,000) candidates obtained the form at N4,OOO (four thousand Naira)
per form, and that is about six billion, nine million Naira (N6.9 billion). Last year, the figure was
N1.5 billion; the previous year was N1.49 billion and so on and so forth. In the last four years, that
agency called JAMB on which you exercise legislative oversight has collected about N24 billion from
candidates, and there is no account to the House and every year you also Budget for that body.
You must please find out what they do with the money. Out of these figures of 1.7 million candidates,
there are only rooms for 520 thousand candidates. It means that 1.2 billion candidates are likely to
roam the street until next year to acquire new forms. Please I want to beg you that when you are
approving the Budget of each department of government that makes money at the end of the year, they
must first account of what they have collected the previous year before you can continue to help them.
As the National Assembly cannotfunction effectively in an atmosphere ojpolitical instability, the House
should take urgent steps to halt the in-exonerable march of our country to anarchy and chaos. I am
happy to learn this morning from the speech of the Hon. Speaker that you have before you a Bill on
Unemployment and one on Poverty Alleviation.
I want to appeal to you to speed up work on such Bills because as at today, out of an estimated
population of 167 million people, 112.6 million people earn less than M170 per day. According to the
government yesterday 120 million people live in darkness, though the figure is about 140 million
because we are now grappling with 2000 megawatts in this country. Brazil talks about 140,000
megawatts. 55 million of our people can neither read nor write.
Out of the population of 160 million youths, majority are not productively engaged. That is why armed
robbers, militants, terrorists and the rest of them have a readymade army any day they want to strike
and you must do something about it. Those who are managing our kalo kalo economic system continue
to talk of growth. Growth without development and motion without movement; but you are in the
position to stop the joke.
When they are talking on growth, ask them to match it with jobs. Please, if four States and I know at
least two and these States are at the very bottom of the statutory allocation table, every month they pay
stipends to thousands of unemployed youths and senior citizens who are over 65 and above. If poor
States can do that, it should be possible for the National Assembly led by the House to understandably
propose a law that would force the government of Nigeria to pay unemployment benefits to at least our
graduates, so that we can begin to look for solutions to some of our problems.
While congratulating the leaders and the entire Members of the House for identifying with the Nigerian
people in the last two years, the House should urgently exercise its legislative powers by addressing the
crisis of insecurity in our country, illiteracy and ignorance, unemplayment and poverty in the land.
,
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Thursday, 6 June, 2013
No. 99
Mr Speaker, I am very happy that unlike some other people who are celebrating darkness instead of
uninterrupted electricity supply, those who are celebrating systemic corruption instead of probity, those
who are celebrating insecurity of life and property instead of safety of our people, the House has
decided today - mid-term to find out where you are coming from and to see how you can move very
speedily in the next two years to take this country - the largest concentration of black people on earth
out of the miasma of corruption and abuse of powers, so that in two years' time, all Nigerians can
celebrate with the House of Representatives that you came, you saw and you conquered.
I thank you for this opportunity.
The following invited Guests also presented Goodwill Messages to the House.
(i)
Senator Ahmed Abdul Ningi
(ii)
Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na'Abba
(iii)
Senator Joy Emordi (Special Adviser to President on National Assembly Matter)
(iv)
President, Nigeria Labour Congress (Comrade Mohammed Umar)
(v)
His Eminence, Alh. Mohammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, represented by His Royal
Highness Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu Oga, and The Andoma of Doma,
(For details of the presentations, see Verbatim Reports of Thursday, 6 June, 2013).
6.
Vote of Thanks:
Mr Deputy Speaker thanked invited Guests, on behalf of the House for honoring the invitation to the
anniversary. He expressed gratitude to all the Guest Speakers for dispassionately appraising the House, and for
directing Honourable Members' attention to the challenges facing the House. He stated that the appraisal will
enable the House to better reposition and rededicate itself for the next two years to achieving the objectives set
out in its Legislative Agenda.
7.
Adjournment:
That the House do now adjourn till Tuesday, 25 June, 2013 at 11.00 a.m. (Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola=«
House Leader).
The House adjourned accordingly at 3.11 p.m.
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal
Speaker