Legislature Should Not Commercialize Oversight Function – Political Sciencist, Abdulrasaq

A Political Sciencist and Research Assistant to Prof Attahiru Jega has cautioned Lawmakers against commercialization of oversight function. He spoke extensively on role of legislative in democratic rule during executive interview with FactualTimes Special Interview Series Crew on Wednesday.

How would you describe the contributions of Lawmakers both at state and national level to the democratic rule in Nigeria, especially in 4th Republic?

As we all know that legislature is an important component of the democratic process, it is as important as the executive whose roles are very germane towards sustaining our democratic values. The Legislature in the fourth republic, just like every other organ of government has played its role in sustaining democratic governance in Nigeria since it return to civil rule in 1999. The role of legislators cannot be overstated because they’ve contributed in many ways both positively and negatively. From 1999 to date, they have continued to serve as beacon of hope to the people both at the state and national levels. One of such instances was their intervention during prolonged illness of Late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua.  Their role in that troubling period further deepened democracy in Nigeria because of the introduction of doctrine of necessity which actually transmitted power to Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President. A lot of roles have been played; they have been able to check the executive, they’ve been able to check excesses of government appointees and if these roles had not been played by the legislature both at the state and national level, the executive arm of government would have been more reckless.

One of the key roles of legislature is oversight function, how will you rate the lawmakers?
I would rate them fairly, because their role as lawmakers is to make law for the entire country, initiate the review of the constitution, confirmation of appointments made by the executive. However, with regards to oversight functions, they have performed abysmally in this respect, sometimes they play into the hands of the executive because the president often influences who becomes what, when and how particularly from his own party. The oversight functions of Nigerian legislators can be poorly rated in the sense that representation entails ensuring the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. Since the return to civil rule, it has become increasingly difficult to divorce members of the legislature the influence of the executive.

For instance, the legislature have the power of subpoena which allows them to invite members of executive or their appointees to give account of their stewardship. We have seen time and time again how members of the executive declined invitations by the legislature without consequences. This happened during Jonathan’s era, we witnessed the same during Buhari’s administration and the same is playing out at this point as they have failed to activate the principle of checks and balance that gives them the power to check the excesses of other organs of government.

To this end, it is important to remind them that the oversight function of legislature is what the common people need. One needs to remind them as well that poverty is the parent of crime and revolution and when the class of the poor greatly increase in number and middle class disappears, the state will soon come to an end. Unless member of the legislature perform to optimum level of their oversight function by then we can say they would at least be able to enhance the greatest happiness of the greatest number of the people. Lawmaking is their key function but their oversight function is very critical to the deepening of democratic value.

On the issue of oversight, some Nigerians have alleged the lawmakers of commercializing oversight functions by using the exercise to get favor or undue rewards.  You will remember during the days of Farouq Lawan, the chairman of House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on fuel subsidy. Do you think this allegation has a point of fact?

You see, as Nigeria and Nigerians, we know what is playing out. Like I said earlier, there is no clear cut separation of powers. In a situation where the executive influence elections of members of the legislature, you cannot talk about check and balances. Performance of oversight function of the legislature is greatly being influenced by members of the executive because the president has a great hold on members of the legislature who are members of his party, the executive tries to influence who chairs what committee, all of which serves to undermine the legislature.

Nigerians are not entirely wrong by saying that they use it as a bait for grabbing as events in the past have shown. There have been instances where legislators invited government appointees to panel of enquiries and members of the executive would be threatening committee members because these oversight functions by the legislators have hitherto been commercialized. What do you think will be the outcome in a situation when invitation is extended to an appointee to appear before a legislative committee (from the same party) to give account of stewardship or investigate an atrocity?
We have had high-profile examples of executive bullying of the legislators by the executive, notable cases included former minister of labour, Mr Chris Ngige, Mr Daniel Pondei, acting NDDC MD director and Col Hameed Ali. At times, when they extend the invite to some of this people, they don’t even honor it and when they honor it, it is just for formality sake.
The only time we get to hear quarrels among members of the legislature is when their interest do not align. When their interest align, party lines are not drawn.

The Lawmakers have been accused of padding budget by add some projects into the national budget during consideration of appropriation bill, do you think this action is right?

Definitely it is an illegality! It is an illegality that has the tendency to increase corruption in governance. Budget padding means the insertion of unnecessarily items with the aim of short-changing the country. The insertion of this item will inflate the budget and at the end of the day there will be no value for the money allocated. There have been issues and contentions about certain items inserted into the budgeting process. The first person to raise this alarm was Hon. Jubril from Kano and he was summarily suspended for raising the alarm and another guy also raised the same alarm but his was not as loud as that of Aminu, he was equally suspended. And during the past three to four months, a senator raised an alarm and he was also suspended.

Legislature are representatives of the people and this legislature have to be accountable and responsive to the people. But the people that they are supposed to be accountable and responsive to are not even asking questions that are precise. And the more the people keep quiet for the legislature or the representatives to do what they want to do and get away with it the more dangerous it get for democracy in our clime. Karl Max opined that silence is a crime in an unjust society where you have a member of the legislature, you have to question certain things in the budgetary process. Members of the public all they do is to criticize and condemned in the court of public opinion. Members of the public can attend legislative sittings to listen to some of the things especially when they are considering bills from the first stage to the last stage before it is assented to by the president. But in Nigeria, after the election, everybody goes home to relax until the next election. So, to be candid, insertion of items into the national budget is an illegality.

(Cuts-in)…But there are argument on the part of the lawmakers that they are closer to the people and they know what their people want. So, what people tag budget padding is actually addition of items not covered in the budget for the benefit of their constituents.

You should expect them to put up argument in defense of their illegality. So, knowing their people, being their representatives is an argument they can put forward but why the insertion of items after the budget have been brought forward. The essence of bringing the budget to legislative assembly is for consideration not for insertion of items not previously covered. It is the executive that prepares the budget. Every organ of government would have it budget sent to the executive for insertion into the national budgeting. In effect, the legislature is to considers, what is appropriate and what is not. If they wanted to insert certain things in their budget when they were sending it to the executive, it should have been captured. So, why wait until the budget is sent to the national assembly for consideration of items and claiming to know their people and their needs. Let me ask, how well are they catering for the needs of these people? Why is it that they wait until there is national disaster before they come to the aid of the people? They only time people saw active participation of their representatives was during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the moment, there is a scourge in Nigeria and that is scourge of hunger, have they come to the rescue of the people they claim to be representing?, No!.

There has been misconception about the role of lawmakers because when people elect lawmakers, they expect them to bring projects: to construct roads, build hospitals among others, how can you orientate Nigerians on this issue?
The political education of Nigerians is very low. They don’t know what the offices entail. When somebody becomes a chief judge, people will expecting him to facilitate gigantic projects to the state. How do you expect him to do that? you are actually telling him to cut corners and bring something home. This orientation is something that both the media and public opinion molders can do particularly during the electioneering processes. The electioneering process entails what happens before, during and after elections. How will the politicians themselves do this and the exciting promises that the politicians made to the people has actual blurred the line of function of each of these offices: executive, legislature and judiciary. A candidate to the federal House of Representatives will tell people of his constituency that when you elect me, I will build hospitals, I will do this and that when in actual fact his function is that of making laws. You make laws for the betterment of the people.

Members of the political class are actually responsible for the mis-education of the masses, particularly the electorate. The opposition will use every avenue to demonize the party or the leader of the party in power by saying they were supposed to do this and that you had the senator president, he was supposed to facilitate projects, do this and that and he has not done them. Whereas the primary role of the legislature is to make laws, others are oversight functions. The executive is the most powerful organ of government. Laws made by the legislature will be implemented by the executive. The policies and programs if government are formulated by the executive not the legislative. So, there is this misconception that was not born out of national interest or sincere interest of developing the state of nation. But the interest is to be able to poison the mind of the opposition that this party is not doing well enough. When they succeed eventually in sending the party in power out and enthroning the other party, people will still discover that it is one and the same, they are not performing. So, it is wrong to expect an arm of government to play a totality roles that are not constitutionally assign to it. The core function the legislature include lawmaking, review of budget, confirmation of government appointment, declaration of wars with other countries. Another is constitutional review, these are critical roles of the legislature. So, in terms of facilitation of projects, it is burst down to their constituency projects. There is a limit to what they can do in that regards but they can make laws that will enhance the greatest happiness of number of people that is how it should be.

Extensive political education is what the people need and the media and public opinion molders and the independent electoral commission has a lot to do in this regard by educating the people about the roles and responsibilities of each organs of government. In our schools, emphasize should be on the roles of organs of government by doing so, we will understand what separation of powers is and what it is not. We will equally understand what checks and balances entail, but without doing that, we will continue to expect from where we will not get results and when we don’t get results, we will just conclude that an organ of government as important as the legislature has failed whereas their primary function has been performed to optimum levels.