Tonnie Iredia

The 7th National Assembly which ended in 2015 was in several respects ignoble. It did not only set a record of passing 46 bills in 10 minutes, it did many other irritating things such as some of its committees being compromised while investigating certain alleged corrupt practices in some public bodies. Although it is probably too early to evaluate the 8th National Assembly, one can safely hope, from its performance so far, that it is not likely to decline to the level of its immediate predecessor.

Dogara and Saraki

The Senate in particular is likely to be different in view of the acceptance by its presiding officer, Senator Bukola Saraki that there had in the past been poor performance in the area of oversight. He indeed promised to bring a closer relationship and a better connection between the Nigerian people and the Senate. For a number of reasons, it would appear that Saraki has been trying to fulfil his promises.  First, his Senate decided to examine and review the salaries of its members that were bloated by inexplicable allowances. Second, it stood against the crazy idea of paying a whooping sum of N2.7bn severance package to some members of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).  Third, it sent a high powered delegation to internally displaced persons in the North-East to empathise with them.

Thereafter it sought to resolve the new electricity tariffs in the interest of the people as the Senate promised to do when it addressed the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) protesters on February 08, 2016. But by far the best of its efforts is that unlike its predecessors that always used ‘bold- face’ to ward off any public discussions on their salaries, the situation has changed to that of negotiations and reviews. For the first time, the exact wardrobe allowance figure of N506, 600 for each member was revealed. Whether or not the National Assembly can successfully carry out the assignment of reviewing the huge take-home pay is a different matter. That it accepted to listen to the cries of Nigerians that our legislators were the highest paid in the world is to us a good beginning. It is only fair to commend the leadership of the 8th Assembly for such a wise step because it is one thing that always and still sets up the people against their law makers.

A few weeks ago when indomitable President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote to the National Assembly to put a check on its propensity to live above the times, a few of the legislators who prefer the old order rudely countered Obasanjo. Their disposition was quite laughable as they sought to establish that the former President was not a saint – a strategy which some Nigerians usually adopt by pointing out what is wrong with someone else when their own wrongs are exposed. They don’t seem to know that exposing other thieves does not exonerate a robbery suspect. It only establishes that the thieves are many. Against this backdrop, the recent revelation that Senate President Saraki has formally replied a letter by former President Obasanjo criticizing the National Assembly’s plans to purchase 469 vehicles despite the economic problems facing Nigeria is instructive.  The report that Saraki in the letter promised that the 8th Assembly will endeavour to depart from the evils of the past is heartwarming.   In the words of the Senate President, “the 8th National Assembly has made the issue of plugging leakages and cutting wastages in our public expenditure system a major priority that should not be toyed with. This may have happened in the past but it will not happen with us.”

The senate President is not alone in this new approach which is a far departure from the impunity of the past. Yakubu Dogara Speaker of the House of Representatives appears to be on the same commendable page. About a month ago both leaders reportedly rejected the idea of using N10 billion to build their official quarters. According to a report by this newspaper, Saraki and Dogara asked that the funds which was voted in the 2016 budget of the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), be slashed from N10 to N2billion. To show their sincerity of purpose about the subject, they reportedly notified the chairmen of the Committees on FCT in both chambers to reflect the decision in their report to the Committees on Appropriation arguing that building for them, two houses worth N10billion amid deepening economic crisis would be insensitive. We agree with them but would move one step further to say it is not right to provide any official houses for them or any other public officer.

To start with, the issue of official accommodation is one matter in which the governments of Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan proved to be weak. They cannot explain to posterity why they were persuaded out of the monetization policy which was put in place by the government of President Obasanjo. The latter at the time sold government buildings to those officers living in them with a plan to cancel official accommodation and provide for public officers, housing allowances in lieu of accommodation. As usual, the policy was reversed without reversing the sale making it necessary to build new houses which were again sold to their occupants only for another set of houses to be built for new officers. As in all cases concerning government, each house was always sold at a loss. Yet, for all the time that Saraki lived in his personal house in the Maitama area of Abuja while Dogara stayed in a rented apartment, their leadership qualities didn’t wane. So, why build official quarters for them only to as usual sell-off and build again only to sell at a loss?

The average legislator is not poor. Therefore, a developing nation like Nigeria should not seek to provide accommodation for them because that can consume the resources for developing where the poor people they represent live. As a result, Nigeria desires legislators who the famous Albert Einstein says should be “ready to live their lives for others”.