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Welcoming Back The National Assembly Members From Recess By Jide Ayobolu Garki 2, Abuja-Nigeria This piece is meant to welcome back the members of the National Assembly from the recess they embarked upon some few weeks back. When the honourable members and distinguished senators of the Parliament were away, a lot of things happened that they would have contributed significantly too. These issues are so germane and could have immense implications for Nigeria’s political economy in the nearest future. And, smarting from the heroic and historic role played by the National Assembly in thwarting the third term agenda or what is otherwise called the tenure elongation scheme, it is imperative that the National Assembly rise up once again on the side of democracy, the truth and justice, so that, we can have not only a sustainable democratic culture, but also a virile and progressive country. And, it goes without saying that National Assembly has a strategic role to play in nation building. In the first place, there was the nagging issue of INEC’s preparedness for the 2007 elections. From all indications there is no evidence whatsoever that the commission is preparing for elections, there is revision of voters register, there is no schedule of elections, electoral officers have not been recruited, no trainings are taking place, INEC has no funds to operate, it is for these reasons that the National Assembly should invite INEC and audit it thoroughly, and ask questions about its level of preparedness for the general elections in 2007 as well as about all other areas of its activities. This is very important because if this is not done on time, it might put the democratic future of the Nigerian state in great jeopardy. The question that should be ultimately asked is that is INEC mentally and psychological prepared for the 2007 elections. Secondly, is the over bearing nature of EFCC, the commission has blossomed into a very big monster that needs to be tamed. The reckless and unguarded vituperations of Ribadu on different political figures even when he has no evidence to substantiate his flippant claims, in any case, if he has evidence, the proper thing he ought to do is to charge them to court, nobody can be presumed guilty until they are so adjudged by a court of competence jurisdiction. Besides, the EFCC has continued to unleash a reign of terror on the Nigerian people as well as resort to unconventional methods in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities. For instance, the incessant harassment of those that are perceived to be close to vice president Atiku Abubakar, like the arrest of Chief Mike Adenuga and Otunba Fasawe just to mention but a few, this is in addition to the invasion of a bank to demand for the private account records of the vice president, undoubtedly, this a violation of the fundamental human rights of the vice president, and this kind of untoward development has been meted out to so many innocent and innocuous citizens in the country. The National Assembly should not only call Ribadu to order, it should be called upon to come and give account of its modus operandi as well as account for its finances since it commenced operation. The parliament should carefully scrutinize its activities with a view of whittling down its powers, for goodness sake Nigeria is not a banana republic, this a country that has rules and regulations, so, nobody can take laws into the his hands, this more so that, we are in a democratic dispensation. The country at this material time can ill-afford an agency of government that will continue to behave like a bull-in-the-China-shop, it is for this reason that the EFCC should not be given more powers to arrest without warrant, that it is desperately looking for. If the National Assembly does, it would have succeeded in turning Nigeria into an organized police state, which is not good for the international image of the country. Furthermore, there is bill in the works to stop some individuals from fulfilling their political rights in the scheme of things in the country. A new law designed to compel vice president Atiku Abubakar to resign from office before contesting next year’s presidential election has been placed before the National Assembly. The preamble to the bill states that, “ not withstanding anything to the contrary as contained in any enactment law or provisions however contained, the provisions of this Act shall apply to control, regulate and restrict categories of persons or officers seeking to contest elections”. It provides that from the commencement of the Act, any person holding certain offices and who wishes to contest other elective office must inform INEC of his/her intention not less than six months to the election. Such aspirants must also vacate his office three months to the next election. Failure to comply with these provisions will disqualify such aspirant from election. Listed as affected by this law are vice president, state governors, deputy governors, senators, members of the house of representatives, members of states’ assemblies, local government chairmen and councilors at the local government level. However, this bill is not in tandem with the provisions of the 1999 constitution, and the National Assembly must not just do what is right in this regard, they must be seen to be doing the right thing. The point is why is the position of the president left out? It means there is more to the bill than meet the eye. Again, there is the anti-terrorism bill that purportedly intends not only to put paid to terrorist activities especially the kidnapping of expatriate oil workers in the Niger-Delta as well as gagging the media about what they should write and what they should not write, what they should air and what they shouldn’t air. This is absolutely unacceptable and totally uncalled for, as this will amount to nothing but the re-introduction of decree two and four to the country. Hence, the National Assembly should look critically at the bill and not pass it into law. There was also the introduction of the Interim National Government (ING) which is part and parcel of the third term agenda which was roundly defeated in the Dome some few months back, the fact that the ING is in the fore in the Nigerian political discourse presently means that, the president is still bent on the tenure elongation project, which is a sad commentary that our political leaders never learn anything good from history. That is why the country has been derisively described as a country of anything is possible. So, the National Assembly members should be alert to shoot down the political contraption the way did with the third term agenda. Closely, related to this is the worrisome and disturbing issue of unbridled politically motivated killings in the country, for one, not a single case of all those that have been killed since 2000 have been unraveled, yet, the assassinations have continued unfettered, the fact of the matter is that life is so cheap and meaningless in Nigeria. This is why the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero should be invited and put on the spot, more so, that more killings were recently carried out and the IGP was pontificating and talking from both sides of his mouth on the issue. Nigeria cannot be turned into a jungle and lawless country by some rapacious political gladiators. The Parliament should also look into the issue of the building of the millennium tower that will cost about N53billion, what is the role of the National Assembly in this laughable development? As well as the gradual, but systematic manner in which external debts is been systematically accumulated by the federal government in recent times from the multi- lateral financial institutions, in spite of the windfall from upsurge in the price of oil in the international market. These are just tips of the iceberg, as the National Assembly has a lot of work to do to remedy the country from the precipice of collapse, more so, the country has been several described as a failed state, we must all join hands together to restore hope to a seemingly hopeless situation. Nigeria will definitely rise again, but justice, fairplay and must prevail. |