One year after its inauguration by President Goodluck Jonathan, EDEGBE ODEMWINGIE, in this report delivers a synopsis of the Seventh House of Representatives as it marks its first legislative anniversary.
When the Seventh House of Representatives was inaugurated on June 6, 2011, 360 federal lawmakers as a road map, adopted the National Legislative Agenda. Watchers say the agenda opened ‘a new episode in parliamentary administration in the country’.
In part, the ambitious legislative agenda aims at reviving and diversifying the economy, generating employment, strengthening national security, curbing corruption, tackling electricity crisis and general infrastructural decay that confront Nigeria, improving the health and educational sectors and working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“Therefore we seek to do things differently and reverse the notion of business-as-usual approach that has been a source of worry to our people. We will be sensitive to what the Nigerian people want and increase our public sensitivity quotient”.
House Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal promised that the legislative agenda will be people-centered and correspond to the expectations of Nigerians.
The Highs…
For the Lower House, apopulistfooting and successive pro-people resolutions has contributed largely to its wide appeal. Federal lawmakers’ stance on the contentious January 1, 2012, removal of fuel subsidy endeared the green chambers with large sections of Nigerians.
Representatives meeting in an emergency session turned against President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to end government fuel subsidy that kept petrol prices low, ahead of a week-long labour strike that paralyzed the country.
The Lower House has discharged its whistle blowing role commendably. In part, it raised alarm on Nigeria’s fiscal recklessness, soaring debt profile and the president’s indiscriminate withdrawals from the country’s Stabilization Fund.
In April, federal lawmakers gave Jonathan 60 days to implement the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which makes provisions for a national debt ceiling amid concerns over rising foreign debt.
As at December 31, 2011, Nigeria’s external debt stood at US$5.7 billion, from US$4.5 billion in 2010 and US$ 3.9 billion in 2009, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
A recent request by the president for $8 billion in four years raises Nigeria’s total debt accumulation to $14 billion – a new high since the country exited the Paris Club debt in 2004.
Lawmakers also launched an investigation into perceived ‘indiscriminate’ withdrawals from the federal government’s Stabilization Fund by the president. Federal lawmakers fear that a continued indiscriminate withdrawal is increasingly converting the account “into a mere slush fund instead of its original mandate”.
Of course, there have been the probes. With the Lower House battling to shake off a history of several bungled probes in the past, the seventh House has recorded some concluded probes with wide reaching results.
Most recently, the Lower House on Wednesday raised alarm over the piling judgement debt profile of the federal government totalling N80 billion as the Lower House detailed its committee on justice to ascertain whether or not ongoing and pending debts are properly incurred and genuine.
Federal lawmakers fear that the country’s justice ministry and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) may be encouraging the procurement of judgement debts against the federal government through negligence in prosecution, exposing scarce public funds and taxpayers money to misuse and waste.
A motion sponsored by Robinson Uwak (Akwa Ibom/PDP) queried the “apparent zeal” of the AGF and justice minister to pay judgement debts instead of diligently defending litigation. The lawmaker said the situation does not reflect commitment to discharge the ministry’s fundamental duty of protecting the interest of the federal government.
Uwak cited the case of the AGF’s commenced payment of over N14 billion in judgement debts to a telecommunication coy despite the fact that the case was still subject to litigation in court.
The Lower House urged Jonathan to direct the immediate suspension of the payment of the telecommunication firm’s judgement claims and other judgements debts pending verification by the Lower House committee. The justice committee is expected to submit its report within 21 days.
The Concluded Probes…
A Lower House sanctioned investigation into a controversial concessioning of a key import and export clearing documentation services contract to Single Window Systems and Technology Limited, by the Federal Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Nigeria Custom Service yielded visible results.
The concession deal awarded in secret under the watch of former Finance Minister and current Minister of Trade and Investment Olusegun Aganga, which stood to rip-off the national treasury by over $30 billion was cancelled following damning revelations in the Leo Ogor-led panel.
The release of the Farouk Lawan-led House of Representatives probe into the management of petroleum subsidy regime report ended weeks of speculation on the fate of the widely indicting report.
After the report’s presentation was repeatedly rescheduled, the more than 200-page document was presented in April amid concerns that the Lawan-led committee which carried out the investigations, had come under severe pressure to soften its position. Analysts have severally expressed fears of high level moves to doctor the report.
“The committee believes that if the Petroleum Subsidy Fund was properly managed, N1.07 trillion would have been available to the three tiers of government.”
The foregoing captures the extent of rape that the federal government’s petroleum subsidy programme was subjected to in the hands of Nigeria’s state run oil regulators and dubious oil marketers.
The indictments were wide and the scale of fraud scandalous. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) management and board, senior officials of the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and fraudulent oil marketers are to refund N1.067trn to the coffers of the Federal Government for illegally drawing subsidy funds running into billions of naira without importation.
According to the breakdown of the report, the NNPC will be made to refund to the federal purse N705 billion; PPPRA N312 billion; oil marketers N8.7 billion. Firms that refused to appear during the investigations are also to repay N41.9 billion. This brings total refunds to N1,067,040,456,171.31 trillion.
The report recommended the unbundling of the NNPC to make its operations more efficient and transparent. According to the report, this can be achieved through the passage of a well drafted and comprehensive Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). It directed the auditing of the NNPC to determine solvency.
For 2012, the subsidy committee’s report recommended to the federal government that petrol subsidy should be fixed at N557 billion as well as a provision of kerosene subsidy of N249 billion. According to the report, the true consumption level of petrol in 2011 was 31.5 million litres per day, recommending 33 million litres per day for 2012.
The Lows…
For a green chamber that has managed its affairs largely scandal free, a bribery scandal that rocked one of its standing committees, took the minds of Nigerians back to shenanigans typical of past dispensations.
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Arunma Oteh queried the integrity of the Herman Hembe-led Committee on Capital Market to investigate the commission. The SEC boss alleged that the panel requested for N44 million to finance the probe.
Oteh also alleged that Hembe had last year collected from SEC monies and a business class ticket to travel to the Dominican Republic for a conference, adding that Hembe did not travel and never returned the money. Hembe has since resigned as chair of the committee and has already been charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Going Forward…
A journalist who covers Nigeria’s parliament, Omeiza Ajayi says the legislature will have to prove that it is on the side of the people by reviving all the masses-oriented bills which the executive refused assents. In essence, the House should muster the will to veto the executive where desirable.
In one year, 273 Bills were introduced. These include: Constitution Amendment Bills Introduced (33). Number of Bills Awaiting Second Reading (136), Number of Bills passed by the House (32). The Lower House also received 172 petitions.
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