When N/Assembly Mulls Moral Rebirth

With questions of integrity dogging much of its path, the National Assembly is pushing for moral revival. It is also making frantic efforts to win back public confidence. UCHENNA AWOM in this analysis takes a cursory look an the new Capital Market probe panel in the House of Representatives.

From the Senate to the House of Representatives, the battle cry resonates. Of what influence is left of the oversight functions? Of what significance is the National Assembly’s statutory power to carry out investigation of other institutions of government in the light of the crisis of public confidence which has enveloped it in recent times? Who bears the brunt?

For now, the unsuspecting Nigerian public may be naively relishing the moment, not minding that the man on the street remains the most vulnerable of a wicked bazaar that could ensue in the event that National Assembly becomes impotent and lame in the execution of its oversight functions and probes as enshrined in Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Stripping National Assembly of powers of oversight by public incitement is seen by some as a clandestine ploy by some elements to relapse into the era of unbridled profligacy in governance. The checks, no matter how weak, for now remain a vital part of a democracy that thrives on checks and balances.

The National Assembly seems to be at a crossroads at the moment as they battle one corruption allegation to another. It could be recalled that the House of Representatives last month sacked its Herman Hembe-led standing Committee on Capital Market following the crisis of confidence which rocked it as a result of bribery allegations that was leveled against it by the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arumma Oteh

Supplanting that committee, the House set up an ad hoc body led by Hon. Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi to conduct a fresh probe which was initiated to ascertain the factors militating against the smooth operations of the Capital Market and proffer solution for the problems.

The main aim of the House was to dig into the problems that led to loss of investors’ confidence in the market and consequent down turn in its fortunes. The strategy was to craft a granite road map that would put this crucial sector back on track for public good.

Things however went awry when the DG of the Commission, Arunma Oteh in reaction to allegations by Hembe that she was spending N850,000 on meals in a day fired back by accusing Hembe of demanding for N44 million as well as collecting estacodes for trips he did not make.

In the midst of the allegations, the investigation started suffering crisis of confidence. To salvage its image and restore the confidence of Nigerians on the exercise, the leadership of the House launched a man hunt for a set of people whose integrity and competence at the moment would not be doubted.

That search culminated in the setting up of the ad-hoc committee by Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. Members of the Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi, led ad-hoc committee include Toby Okechukwu, Yakubu Dogara, Bimbo Daramola, Ini Udoka, Buba Jibril, Usman Adamu Mohammed and Rose Okoh. Since the selection, stakeholders have been wondering why El-Sudi was selected to chair the very important committee since the reputation of the House is heavily at stake.

Over the years, El-Sudi (PDP) representing Gashaka/Kurmi/Sardauna Federal Constituency of Taraba State has held several positions of responsibility which clearly show his mettle for thoroughness and he is one of those few politicians that have never been named in fraudulent deals.

He is a constitutional lawyer with 12 years experience. El-Sudi is also known to be fearless, and parades credentials that place him high in the moral cadre of one that may not easily be compromised. His major areas of strength include,

Constitutional Law and Administration; Criminal Law, International Public Law, Islamic Law, Communication, Negotiation and Facilitation; Problem solving/Decision making Writing/Documentation.

El-Sudi attracted to himself the advantage of having held several public offices related to public administration, a development that exposed him to issues involved in the investigation. A former Commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General of Taraba State, El-Sudi stood a better chance of reshaping the Capital Market investigation to desired expectations.

And as a former Secretary to the Taraba State Government, El-Sudi will no doubt bring his experience and competence in management and administrative matters to bear on the operations of the ad-hoc committee especially the issue of carrying committee members and other stakeholders along in matters involved in the probe.

That is the glimpse of the man who will complete the assignment, but nothing is cast in stone. Will he and his men come out clean on the assignment? Are they on a vengeance mission or to salvage the capital market as the House has promised to so do? Nigerians will not forget in a hurry the debacle that nearly cast the lawmakers as people who are morally bankrupt. That being the case, Is El-Sudi morally prepared to re-navigate the House away from public odium? These are questions begging for answer.

However, observers believe that one of the factors that led to the failure of the Hembe-led committee in the probe was Hembe’s inability to not only win the confidence of stakeholders and members of the committee but the failure to manage them and carry his colleagues along.

Besides there are near consensus that El-Sudi has more to lose if chooses to head the way of perdition. This is because a further glimpse into his credentials makes it imperative that he has to focus on the substance.

One of the major reasons the leadership of the House to select El-Sudi was the belief that he can ensure that the probe will be independent, professional and devoid of sentiments and victimization. It is believed that the El-Sudi-led committee will establish and stamp its independence and total uniqueness in terms of focus and methodologies.

The Committee must not in any way create an impression that it was an offspring of the embattled Herman Hembe-led House Committee on Capital Market.

In fact, the specific prayer of the Isiaka Bawa motion that gave rise to the establishment of the ad-hoc committee must of necessity continue to serve as a guide in this respect. That prayer reads:“That an ad-hoc Committee be empanelled immediately to facilitate the execution of the mandate of this Honourable House in carrying out to the end the investigative hearing on the near collapse of the Nigerian Capital Market and to report back to the House within 21 days;”

It is also instructive for the committee to know that in an investigation of this nature, there is hardly room for conclusive or judgmental statements. It is only at the point of collating the facts that had been gathered as well as the point of actual conclusion and recommendations that such judgmental statements can be welcomed.

In fact the constitution of the Federal Republic from which the House derived its investigative powers has provided the very essence of every parliamentary investigation. Section 88 of that constitution empowers the National Assembly to investigate the activities of any person of agency of government, especially for the aim of exposing corruption and making legislations to check abuses and strengthen the system.

Section 88 states, “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, each House of the National Assembly shall have power by resolution published in its journal or in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation to direct or cause to be directed investigation into – (a) any matter or thing with respect to which it has power to make laws, and (b) the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, ministry or government department charged, or intended to be charged, with the duty of or responsibility for – (i) executing or administering laws enacted by National Assembly, and (ii) disbursing or administering moneys appropriated or to be appropriated by the National Assembly.

Sub section (2) of the section further states that “The powers conferred on the National Assembly under the provisions of this section are exercisable only for the purpose of enabling it to -(a) make laws with respect to any matter within its legislative competence and correct any defects in existing laws; and (b) expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it.

It went further to say in its section 89 that:
(1) For the purposes of any investigation under section 88 of this Constitutional and subject to the provisions thereof, the Senate or the House of Representatives or a committee appointed in accordance with section 62 of this Constitution shall have power to – (a) procure all such evidence, written or oral, direct or circumstantial, as it may think necessary or desirable, and examine all persons as witnesses whose evidence may be material or relevant to the subject matter;

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating the affairs of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Capital Market fits into the provision and as such must subject itself to scrutiny by the House.

On the whole, Nigerians expect the probe to throw up real issues. They are optimistic that the probe will yield desired result especially as the members of the adhoc committee have been having nothing in common with stakeholders in the sector. It is expected that El-Sudi will use the probe to champion a reawakening in the market and plug all loopholes that are being exploited by certain unscrupulous elements to frustrate the smooth running of that sector.

Back to the Senate, the pension probe seems to be throwing up some sand into the already over-flowing cup of doubt. The allegations of profligacy against the committee have begun to attract public attention. Nonetheless, the leadership is effectively marshaling out ways to mitigate any rough shudder.

But there seems a dangerous trend emerging in the political system; and that is a situation where some phony ‘Civil Society Groups’ have become commodities for sale to some sharks whose nefarious activities are being probed in the National Assembly to act as their pressure pipe and protective shields.
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