Lukman rates legislative practice under Akpabio, Abbas abysmal

…Says courageous voices fading away in NASS

Former Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Malam Salihu Moh Lukman, has lamented what he described as “abysmally low level of legislative practice” under the current National Assembly leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

Lukman, who was the immediate-past National Vice Chairman, North-west, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) also said that gradually courageous voices of individual lawmakers were fading away.

In a statement titled “Importance of Legislature to a Democracy”, released to newsmen Tuesday in Abuja, the political activist and politician blamed a situation whereby the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly have been downgraded to the status of appointees of the President for the development.

According to him, punitive policy decisions of successive Nigerian governments, including the present one are taking precedence over the life of citizens.

While acknowledging the courageous stand taken by the 5th and 6th Assembly in the case of third term agenda and the doctrine of necessity, Lukman said: “However, there is deep feeling of concerns among Nigerians that courageous voices of individual legislators in both the Senate and the House of Representatives is fading away and both chambers are becoming more like rubber stamps. Partly because of the faint or almost complete absence of courageous voices in the National Assembly, the President and the members of the Executive body of Government are practically getting away with virtually every wrong decision that are injurious to the wellbeing of Nigerian citizens.

A good example is the impulsive declaration of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to end petroleum subsidy without any clear plan. Followed by another impulsive decision to float the Naira exchange rate against other international currencies with hardly any plan.

“How did we get to this abysmally low level of legislative practice whereby it can almost be said that in Nigeria, democracy equates darkness? Without going into details, combinations of many factors, which have taken place over the last 25 years are responsible. Some of the factors include the reality whereby systematically the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly have been downgraded to the status of appointees of the President. That was largely made possible by the fact that the party machinery or organs, which are supposed to serve as the platforms for negotiations have been weakened and also subordinated to the President.

Consequently, beyond having a democracy that equates to darkness, like in the Kenyan situation described by Sen. Asige ‘unity’ is being ‘violently gunned down in the streets, not by men, but by monsters who have no concern for human lives’. Unlike in Kenya whereby the monsters are only associated with nefarious activities of trigger-happy overzealous police officers, in our context in Nigeria they are also amorphous operating as Boko Haram, bandits, kidnappers and other variants of terrorist groups in the country.”

Lukman, who made reference to a recent viral video of Senator Asige in Kenya where the lawmaker observed with respect to Kenya rejection of Finance Bill and the massive protest against the government, the state said in Nigeria “Fifteen trillion Naira is being expended on a costal road from Lagos to Calabar, Billions have been expended on a Presidential Yatch, Vice President accommodation, purchase of luxury vehicles for elected and appointed government officials, including members of the National Assembly, a new Presidential aircraft is about to be procured, etc. The list is almost endless and keep growing and the cost is simply punitive.

“Although young Nigerians are making every effort to engage these issues, absence of organisational strategy, compounded by lack of inclusiveness have blocked opportunities for young people in Nigeria to effectively confront our today’s forces of darkness. As a result, many are asking the question, ‘when will young Nigerians stand up and look their oppressors in the eye and show them that when it come to the wire, there are only two times to be brave – when you feel it and when you don’t’? When that time come, will Nigerians have a strong voice in the two chambers of the National Assembly to echo their grievances and speak on their behalf like Sen. Asige did for the Kenyan youth?”

The Kaduna born politician added that “the perception of majority of Nigerians is that Nigerian government is uncaring, wasteful and has turned its back on citizens. It is a painful reality, which unfortunately doesn’t elicit the kind of debate expected in the two chambers of the National Assembly.

“In other words, there is a complete failing on the part of the two chambers of the National Assembly and its members to serve as a check on the President and members of the Executive.

“Part of the challenge of our democracy is that the two chambers of the National Assembly are only accountable to themselves. The Public Accounts Committees in both chambers are expected to oversight management of funds allocated to the National Assembly. Somehow, these are issues that contribute to the current reality whereby the National Assembly, its leadership and members lost the moral authority to regulate the conduct of the Executive Arm of government. With that, they function practically at the mercy of the President and members of the Executive Arm, almost as if they are employees of the Executive. Using all these incentives, the President and members of the Executive arm seamlessly turned on the ‘gaslight’, which leaves members with no option but to believe and approve every proposal submitted even when they are injurious to public interests. Having served as the machinery that hurt the people, they become liabilities and therefore eventually got discarded.”