Politics
‘Inadequate Funding, Inhibiting Oversight Functions Of Legislators’
The Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), Mr Ojo Amos, has stated that inadequate funding was inhibiting legislators from performing their oversight functions.
He made the remark at at a three-day capacity building workshop for directorate cadre staff of the Senate, in Abuja on Monday.
Amos said: “It is regrettable that funding has been inhibiting the activities of our committees, especially, in the area of effective oversight functions.
“In comparison to what is available as global best practice; committees should have vehicles, fully equipped secretariat and funds to conduct their activities.
“There must be diligent record keeping, for easy and quick referencing always, for the purpose of rendering smooth advice to the legislators; while there is need to formulate realistic annual work plans for the committees.
“It is imperative that the Senate, the highest legislative partner in Nigeria’s representative democracy, needs to continuously respond to rising expectations of its constituents.
“This is in order to be on top of its constitutional functions of representation, law making and other oversight duties”.
Amos said the internal workings of the parliament and relations with the other branches of government, especially the executive, were fundamental to the health of the National Assembly in Nigeria.
“Directors should be accountable to their committees and departments, because under our watch, we will not entertain any excuse, as we will not hesitate to apply the public service rules against any erring staff”.
The training was organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for staff on the directorate level.
In his remarks, Director-General NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said that the ability of the legislature to effectively deliver on its mandate depended on its human resources.
“Both legislators, but equally importantly, parliamentary staff, who provide essential support to legislators and their activities need capacity building workshops to enhance their jobs.
“Also, for effective parliaments, enhanced democracy, and generally to promote good governance and socio-economic development, there is need for capacity building of the staff.
“More so, staff are the backbone of the legislature, serving not only as engine-room but also the institutional memory of the Assembly”.
Sulaiman said that the workshop was designed following a needs assessment study conducted by the Clerk, Senate, in 2020, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In addition to that, the institute recognises the serious lacunae that opened up in the National Assembly following mass retirements in the last two years.
“This has made the need for training of staff even more necessary, to ensure smooth operations of the assembly particularly in core legislative areas such as chamber operations, among others”.
The director-general further said the institute had already lined up similar workshops for middle and low level cadre of the Senate’s staff on GL 12-14, GL 8-10 and GL 4-7.
He added that the trainings would also be extended to the staff of the House of Representatives.
Declaring the workshop open, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, noted that to achieve improved quality, the workshop needed to focus on directorate level staff of the senate, as a crucial cadre of the senate bureaucracy.
Represented by Senate Minority Whip, Sen. Philip Aduda, the senate president said the implication of this was the recognition that NILDS was concerned with not only the overall improvement of service delivery” but a growth in the performance levels of different service grades.
“The NILDS training does not also imagine that we have not been hard working. It rather envisages avenues of improvement, aside from reminding us of new techniques in service delivery”, Lawan added
The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.
In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.
“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.
“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.
“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.
Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.
Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.
He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.
Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.
He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.
He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.
“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.
“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.
“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”
The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.
President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.
The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.
The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.
The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.
However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.
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