The recent disclosure by former Education and Solid Minerals Minister, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili that the Federal Government spent N1 trillion on the National Assembly in the past eight years has, again, raised some concerns about the high cost of running the present democratic practice, writes GEORGE OJI.
Expectedly, since last week when the former World Bank Vice President, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, observed that the National Assembly was gulping a lot of resources from the federation account, the two-time minister under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo has come under virulent criticisms by the National Assembly members. Even though she is not new to controversies, for the pioneer head of the budget monitoring and price intelligence unit, this is one controversy too many.
Since she left public office in Nigeria about six years ago, Ezekwesili, who is reputed as the architect of the Bureau for Public Procurement legislation, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency legislation and the new minerals and mining legislation has been very vociferous about subsequent administrations, particularly on issues of anti-corruption crusading.
Early this year, the former Bretton Woods institution staff stirred the hornest's net when she raised the alarm that subsequent administrations in Nigeria after President Obasanjo had squandered the sum of $45 billion in the nation's foreign reserve accounts and another $22 billion in the excess crude account.
She did not stop at that, the former chairperson of the NEITI, who led the first ever national implementation of the global standards and principles of transparency in the oil and gas and mining sector also alleged that more than N10 trillion of Nigeria's oil savings bequeathed by the former President Obasanjo to the late Umaru Yar'Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan were squandered.
So, the allegation last week that about N1 trillion of the nation's resources has been flickered by the National Assembly in the past eight years was only vintage Ezekwesili for those who know the chartered accountant very well.
Speaking on the topic, "Cost Efficiency, Funding Governance and Delivering Development: The Oronsaye Report in Perspective," Ezekwesili at a one-day dialogue on the cost of governance in Nigeria, which was jointly organised by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, and the Federal Public Administration Reform Programme, United Kingdom (UK), asserted that, "Since 2005, the National Assembly has been allocated over N1 trillion."
Explaining how the progressive increase in the cost of running the national parliament came about, the former minister noted that in 2005 and 2006 the National Assembly was allocated N54.79 billion respectively, but that figure rose to N158 billion in 2010 and that the allocation had been steady at N150 billion since 2011. Some ways Ezekwesili believes that change, particularly in cutting down the huge resources expended on the nation's lawmakers could come about, is first by way of proactive engagement of the government by Civil Society Organisations, CSOs.
Secondly, it is through part-time legislation as obtainable in most advanced democracies of the world, especially from countries where Nigeria adopted its current political system. "Things will improve through parttime legislations. It will also filter the number of people who will go into the National Assembly," she argued, adding that, "There should be effective demand by civil societies for a mini national transparent dialogue because it touches on the heart of good governance."
Some of the lawmakers, who immediately took up the gauntlet against the former minister expectedly, refuted the observation as untrue and aimed at blackmailing the National Assembly. In fact, Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma- Egba, described the observations as mere sensational assertion aimed at rubbishing members of the National Assembly.
The lawmaker, who admitted that the sum of N150 billion was truly allocated to the National Assembly in the 2013 Appropriation Act, noted that when compared with the nearly N5 trillion federal budget of the year, the N150 billion represents a mere three per cent of the national budget and therefore did not merit the type of dust Ezekwesili sought to raise with the figure.
"It is sheer sensationalism to suggest that under three per cent of the budget is the problem of the nation.
"Our current annual budget is N150 billion, out of a national budget of N5 trillion. This is under three per cent of the national budget. And it consists of capital, recurrent, salaries of members, its bureaucracy, aides, the National Assembly Service Commission, National Legislative Institute, subscriptions to international parliamentary bodies etc," he said.
Senator Kabiru Marafa, while also challenging the figures reeled out by the former minister, in fact went a little personal in his defence of the National Assembly. He said it was easier to make an allegation than to substantiate it, challenging her to provide detailed evidence to elucidate her claim.
He said: "But she should also be kind enough to tell Nigerians how much was spent on her as Minister of Education by the ministry and its various parastatals, especially the Nigerian Teachers Institute (NTI), ETF and UBE. It is very easy to dump all sorts of rubbish at the doorstep of National Assembly members because familiarity is said to breed contempt. But it is quite another thing to substantiate it."
The House of Representatives also came out forcefully to lend its voice to the defence of members of the national parliament over the matter. The Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Afam Ogene, in a statement described the disclosures by the former minister as efforts at seeking national attention.
According to the statement, "There appears to be a let-up in the crave by the former Education Minister, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, to get back into national consciousness, simply by ramdomly throwing pot shots anchored on misplaced aggression, in the ardent hope that such mudslinging would elevate her to the status of a moral crusader." Ogene stated that the former minister was simply haunted by the fact that she was no longer holding public office and challenged her to provide evidence of her latest allegations and earlier ones.
The former minister while standing by her claims over the jumbo pay issue immediately challenged the lawmakers to a public debate where she would openly substantiate her position on the matter. In a statement, she said: "The National Assembly in its prestige as the most important symbol of our democracy has a duty to promote at all times the democratic culture of tolerance for dissension.
Would it therefore not have been more dignifying of our democracy if the spokesmen had used the opportunity of their reaction to offer their own data to contradict or clarify anything conveyed in my speech after reading it?"
Ezekwesili expressed reservations at the reaction of the lawmakers, noting that rather than appraise her comprehensive lecture, the National Assembly chose to haul abuses at her. She proceeded to give details of the budgetary allocations to the National Assembly in the last eight years, which confirmed that N1 trillion has been spent on the legislature since 2005.
According to her, "as part of the aspect of my presentation that touched on management of Public Finance, I provided eight years data on budgetary allocations or transfers to the National Assembly.
The data in question is publicly available information from the Ministry of Finance which reveals that the allocations to the National Assembly known as Statutory Transfers between 2005 and 2013 were approximately one trillion naira as follows: 2005, N54.79 billion; 2006, N54.79 billion; 2007, N66.4 billion; 2008, N114.39 billion; 2009, N158.92 billion; 2010, N150 billion; 2011, N150 billion; 2012, N150 billion; 2013, N150 billion "I also provided information available in a recent global comparison of legislators' remuneration across the world recently published by the United Kingdom based The Economist magazine. I stated that the report alleged that Nigerian federal legislators with a basic salary of $189,500 per annum (N30.6m) were the highest paid lawmakers in the world."
She insisted that an institution like the National Assembly needed to encourage and appreciate dissenting views and promote debate. The minister then asked for date, and pledged to be available for the hearing that will discuss lawmakers' remuneration.
"I wish to state with absolute respect for our lawmakers and our institution that it will be more valuable and enriching for our democracy if instead of the abusive language of their recent reaction, the National Assembly immediately offered me and the rest of the Nigerian public, the opportunity of a Public Hearing on their budgetary allocation and the very relevant issue of their remuneration," she said. "I shall make myself available to the National Assembly as soon as it decides to host a public hearing on this and other related issues of the lawmakers' interest," she said.
The observations and remarks by the former World Bank Vice President came barely a month after The Economist magazine wrote that the Nigerian federal legislators receive much higher salaries than their counterparts in wealthier countries and key developing nations.
The report went further to disclose that a Nigerian legislator receives an annual salary of about $189,000, equivalent of N30 million, which is 116 times the country's gross domestic product (GDP) per person.
The figures put salaries collected by Nigerian senators and members of the House of Representatives way ahead of those re-ceived by fellow parliamentarians in the 29 countries whose data was analysed by The Economist.
It stated that in terms of volume of cash earnings, the Nigerian legislators beat their counterparts in Britain who take $105,400 yearly, as well as those in the United States ($174,000), France ($85,900), South Africa ($104,000), Kenya ($74,500), Saudi Arabia ($64,000) and Brazil ($157,600). It noted that in terms of lawmakers' salaries as a ratio of GDP per capita, the gap is even much wider. While the salary of a Nigerian lawmaker is 116 times the country's GDP per person, that of a British member of parliament is just 2.7 times.
The report said British legislators' pay is "relatively parsimonious" when compared with that of their counterparts in poorer countries, including Nigeria, who "enjoy the heftiest salaries by this measure." According to the data, only Australian lawmakers, with $201, 200 annual salary, receive higher amounts compared to Nigerian legislators, but their salaries are only three times their country's GDP per person.
Other yearly salary details published by the Economist are those of lawmakers in Ghana ($46,500), Indonesia ($65,800), Thailand ($43,800), India ($11,200), Italy ($182,000), Bangladesh ($4,000), Israel ($114,800), Hong Kong ($130,700), Japan ($149,700), Singapore ($154,000), Canada ($154,000), New Zealand ($112,500), Germany ($119,500), Ireland ($120,400), Pakistan ($3,500), Malaysia ($25,300), Sweden ($99,300), Sri Lanka ($5,100), Spain ($43,900) and Norway ($138,000).
The revelation contained in The Economist magazine regarding the jumbo pay of the nation's federal lawmakers quite expectedly generated a national condemnation. Aside from Nigerians on the street who rose in condemnation of the pay, prominent Nigerians too commented against it.
For instance, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), a constitutional lawyer, criticised it and noted that the pay posed serious cause for concern. Former President, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Peter Esele, in an interview said: "It was very regrettable, especially when you compare their pay with the state of the Nigerian economy, the living standards of those they represent, life expectancy in Nigeria, the per capita income and the salaries paid to the Nigerian workers, Nigerian professors etc.
It is even more unfortunate when you recall that the United States President, Barack Obama's salary is $400,000 per annum, while a Nigerian senator collects N48 million per quarter, $1.7m per annum, and each member of the House of Representatives receives $1.2 million per annum."
In the midst of the current name-calling and defenceless explanations being offered, the truth must not be lost on the real lessons to be taken away from the Ezekwesili expose. The fact of the matter is that the present democratic practice is taking a great deal of financial tolls on the purse of this country; whether it is from the executive, judiciary or indeed the legislature. Nigeria appears not to be getting commensurate democratic values for money.
The time is more than ripe for a reassessment of our democratic journey so far, particularly as it relates to the high costs of governance. We need to pose some hard questions to ourselves and profer very honest answers to them.
In the past 14 years since we began the current democratic journey, the nation has earned unprecedented huge resources from both the oil and gas exports and other sources. It is saying the obvious by asserting that the same resources have not been judiciously applied for the development and well-being of the country. The last 14 years had unfortunately witnessed the worst institutionalisation of corruption in Nigeria than any other period of our lives as a nation.
The truth remains that the legislature under the current democratic system, as is obtainable in other similar presidential jurisdictions is the fulcrum of the people. Flowing from that, the parliamentary institutions ought to be properly funded for it to discharge its responsibilities to the people honourably. But the way the nation's parliaments operate, both at the federal and state levels at the moment leaves much to be desired.
The point that the Senate Leader, Ndoma- Egba, made that the N150 billion allocation to the National Assembly constitutes a mere three per cent of the entire nation's national budget, really does not address the issue in its true sense.
It begs the issue. In a country of about 175 million people and N150 billion is allocated for the use of 469 persons (109 senators and 360 House members) out of N5 trillion sum, obviously leaves more to be desired. Granted that there are other bureaucracies that benefit from the allocation to the National Assembly, the truth of the matter is that the lawmakers are the real reasons for the existence of those other bureaucracies. As was revealed by the recent report of The Economist Magazine, the Nigerian legislators are the highest paid all over similar jurisdictions, across the world.
This is as far as official records show. In practical terms, the figures quoted by the report exclude the many other unseen earnings of the Nigerian legislators, particularly the huge and unquantifiable resources accruing to them from their legislative oversight activities. So far, the report of The Economist magazine, is yet to be disputed by any of the lawmakers in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, it is doubtful if the Nigerian lawmakers are the most productive all over the world. This must therefore give every well-meaning citizen of this country serious cause for concern.
This is perhaps the most auspicious time to begin to reconsider the proposal for a part-time legislative arrangement for the country as suggested by Ezekwesili and a host of other patriotic Nigerians in line with what is obtainable in some of other democracies of the world, particularly in America, where our current federalist structure took root from. Indeed, there is no rationale in continuously keeping our legislators on full-time salaries while they operate in real terms on part-time basis.
As has also been canvassed in certain quarters, we should alternatively consider the idea of collapsing our current bi-cameral legislative arrangement into a unicameral one as a design to further address the cost of governance and reduce the senseless tension that currently exist between the executive and the legislature.
The job of lawmaking is one that desires sacrifice, commitment and selfless service to the people. It should not be a money-making venture or a means to an end as it has unfortunately been turned into by some of our current legislators.
Anybody aspiring to become a lawmaker in Nigeria as Ezekwesili affirmed in her presentation at the conference, "must have means of livelihood and doesn't need to depend on public funds to be a legislator."
National Mirror
The masses are already used to their habit of spending huge in Nigeria so we're not bothered anymore. Let them just go ahead....God is watching!