Kwara Assembly Not Performing Oversight Function -Ex-Speaker Ali Ahmad
The Speaker of 8th Kwara State House of Assembly and representative of Ilorin East/Ilorin South Federal Constituency in House of Representatives, Abuja during 7th National Assembly, Prof ALI AHMAD x-rays the roles of legislative in Nigeria’s democratic rule. Prof Ali Ahmad in FactualTimes Special Interview Series to make this Democracy Day bemoaned the 9th Senate for allowing former President Muhammadu Buhari to mismanagement the economy by approving loans without due diligence. He advised Kwarans to objectively assess performance Kwara State House of Assembly members. Ahmad who is currently Professor in University of Abuja implored Kwarans to participate actively in forthcoming local government elections in Kwara State.
As a former state lawmaker and Federal lawmaker, what can you say about the contributions of the legislature to good governance in Nigeria?
In principle legislature which is the bedrock of any democracy, without the legislature there is little different between its dictator and a democratic governance but in legislature, the President is person and could be autocratic too but the legislative house is the house of the people and representative of the people. So, if the legislative assembly is working very well, the democracy will prevail and will advance. Once legislature is compromise then it have a lot to be desire. I will say the result is mixed part, it’s not a total failure nor it be a successful rate that one would expect.
One thing that the legislative are getting wrong both the federal and state and which Nigerians are not looking at properly is that, once a legislative house is inaugurated, the key thing for the executive is to capture the Presiding Officers. Once we let that happens and that has be happening, then our legislature house performance will continue to erode. As you can see in 1999, the legislative house was independent, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo when he was able to enforce his own senate president and house of representatives speaker, you will see that the national assembly was non-effective but when Ghali N’abba came (may God bless his memories) and Obasanjo did not have hand in his emergence. You could see that the house of representatives was different, was performing well and you can come up to the president. Anytime the president did not have their way in the emergence of senate president or the house of representatives speaker, the legislative house is always representing the people and that is the vision of democracy. The president should have nothing to do with the legislature and its emergence. But in Nigeria, once we left the legislature, we left it for the president and governors. You can imagine that governors determine who get ticket, they determine who get elected, they determine who become speaker. So, the legislative house are non-effective.
At Federal level, anytime the president has input in the emergence of senate president or speaker, then we will not have a representative. So, the president will have free hand. That is where we are having it wrong if there is no way that we can prevent president from anointing Presiding officer then it will still be a problem.
Do you think it is possible that the executive will not have the hand in supporting ing or endorsing somebody become Presiding Officers of legislative house at the state or federal level?
It is possible! In some other countries, the executive arm of government do no impose as a party. Your party can have influence on the emergence of the Senate president or speaker. We can say that this is the candidate of the party . So, you will now leave it for the legislature to see how that candidate his; how popular he/she is; how did his colleagues view him to support the candidate. But the president can not impose or involve, cajole, and force everybody in line as it is happening in Nigeria, so support is different from imposing. Once you impose, that mean you have an agenda but when you support, like if a president support a candidate, he will win but this some presidents don’t choose popular candidate.
On the issue of legislature on federal level, you remember recently the senate in particular what they made after the resolution on means and wage loan by the CBN and the approval of loan without giving details to the National Assembly.
…Don’t you think it is the fault of leadership of the senate?
It is the fault of the leadership of the Senate and Nigerians should hold them accountable because even if you know your emergence is through Mr President, you should answer your father’s name. So, those legislature and the Presiding officer who did not do their work properly still has the question hanging on their neck because they are the one that have took Nigerian to where it was today.
President Tinubu is doing everything in his power to cover also the pot holes because the mess is to much. Buhari literally destroy something and the legislature did not do anything to prevent it. They failed woefully because they are the one that approved the loan.
During your days as the Speaker Kwara State house of assembly, you led the house to perform oversight function even to the point the your party almost have issue with you. What do you think the current assembly are doing enough in terms of oversight function?
Well, Idon’t want to be judgemental. You all know when we did our own, it serious and with what you are seeing now, during our time nothing happen even when the executive comes out but once we noticed or receive petition that comes from the people because we are the representatives of the people. So, even if the government, the executive policies is beneficial and people are opposing like ongoing demolition of building/shops in the state because they don’t have information. We usually bring the two sides together, and let them know that, this policy is good then they will have a smooth sail. That way, you help the executive, you help the government. I will just cite one example, house is not just for there to make laws and call for public hearing which nobody attend, but you have been seeing something then make the law to represent the people and what are the things you do to protect the people. The question now is that, did Kwara State house of assembly now represent the people, if they are, then why are people screaming, yelling that you are destroying their shops and homes. What governor is doing is beneficial but maybe people are not getting it, so you expect the house of assembly to call a public hearing, call this so called victims, call government officials, the ministry of works or KWGIS or whoever is destroying people lives, hear from both sides and then you determine if it is good policy and if it is been applied too fast or too dramatic then you come in and intervene but the Kwara State house of assembly is missing.
Looking at the issue of oversight, there are some issues that when it comes to legislature, the lawmakers, the expectation of the people about them is that they also still want them to perform the function of executive like awarding projects, constructing road projects, health center and others. Sir, do you think there is a way that we can re-orientate the populace on this?
This is where all the populace are getting it wrong. But you see, when you don’t do your primary function then the people will impose their own view of your function. If you have perform all these constitutional functions and they want to give you responsibility that is not your own, you will come out and tell them that look, in this A, B and C. I have perform very well, have been representing you, if you remember the time that you wanted to do this and I protected you but in this issue of implementation, legislature has no duty in implementing a contract or awarding contract, and construction of roads. This are not the legislature job but when they are not doing their job and the common man doesn’t know the difference between governor and the speaker, he doesn’t know you are all officials to the government. Governor is doing road and they expect you to do a mini road; governor is doing secretariat; you have to do a mini secretariat, governor is giving millions; you have to give thousands because they thought the legislature do nothing else.
In Kwara State, the State Independent Electoral Commission has announced September 21 as the date for local government elections. As a member of the PDP, what will be your advice to your party and to the Kwarans at large?
My advice is not for any party, my party is just a small percentage of Kwara people, how many people vote in Kwara, is very little. But my advice is for the Kwara people that we should urge this clepto-cratic capture of Local Government. It is all over, the last count, is about 17 or 18 states that do not have elected local government, that is a big number. You have it across political parties, you have it in PDP, you have it in APC. Look at Kaduna State under El-Rufai, a fantastic state, APC conducted local government election, where they win they win, where they lose they lose.
This clepto-cracy going in states which is worst in Kwara for the past 5years. My message for Kwarans is that, for the past 5years, your money has been swallowed by unelected government. It is up to you if you want this money to be accounted for and return to the purse of local government and vote the non-APC candidate but if you want your money to continue to be mismanage, then it is up to you, but for me, this incoming local government is for us to say whether i am APC or PDP, I will not elect anybody that will not ask for account in local government as a chairman. If I am from the Ilorin south, I will ask my chairman to account for the money. You Ilorin South people, go and elect a chairman that will ask for account for the past 5yearss from this local government. If you bring all those administrators, we will ask them where are our money and they have to account for it so is not whether I am taking to APC or PDP, but to people that if you want this money to be accounted for because these people have deliberately mismanaged this funds. If you are an APC, maybe you should come to PDP, we can not elect independent candidate, otherwise i would have ask my friend, professors to come and become the chairman of local government. We should do that, I’ve been telling them to get out from their comfort zones and that this beautiful ideas they can not get it untill they come and become elected. But you see, you cannot be elected untill you join the party. So, you don’t have to be a member of PDP, come and take the ticket in PDP, sell your ideas to members, get the ticket and when you get there, promise the people that once i get there all your money for the past 5years, i will get it back for you and see whether people will not turn up. My message to Kwarans is to elect chairman who will call for account of the past 5years because we must stop this cleptocracy capture which is bad everywhere but it is worst in Kwara State.