Tackling the thorny issues
By Kodilinye Obiagwu and Clifford Ndujihe
L AST week, the National Assembly inspired considerable public reservations about its attitude to issues concerning the welfare of the people. The legislature was apparently ambivalent in the matter of 54 per cent hike in the price of petroleum products.
Specifically, the Senate President, Chief Adolphus Wabara saw nothing wrong in the N40 per litre announced by government for premium motor spirit (petrol). He was shown on television as saying that, "N40 is not too much."
This response could not have been what the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari had in mind when he pledged two weeks ago that the House was concerned about the peoples' welfare. He also said that the current lawmakers would distance themselves from the negative image of their predecessors.
An unimpressed Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Adams Oshiomhole, declared in rage: "The silence of the Senate over the Federal Government's increase in the prices of petroleum products is a conspiracy to stand aloof and pretend as if nothing is wrong with the country."
At a meeting with Masari, he said he hoped "that the legislature will put its weight behind our commitment to putting things right and restoring peace in the country."
Commentators believe that but for the fight put up by Labour, the lawmakers would not have fought a reversal of the hike in price of petroleum products in the interest of the people.
"They are more concerned about the end of the strike and willing to tow the middle ground. We deserve a National Assembly that is ready to fight the cause of the people that voted them into power, and not one that would use the power against the people," said one commentator.
Criticisms have continued to trail the National Assembly's attitude. A Senator in the second Republic, Chief Francis Spanner Okpozo said, "they should make laws that will alleviate the problems of the people. For instance, the increase in the price of fuel should have been done by the National Assembly and not by one man. The increase in the price should be regulated by law."
"There is no doubt that this National Assembly will be judged by not only how it conducts itself especially in its relationship with the executive in the next four years, but also by the kind of laws and issues it addresses," said Chief Ethelbert Okwaranyia, an All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) member in the House of Representatives.
Pastor Chris Okotie the presidential candidate of the Justice Party (JP) believes that the national question and restructuring of the country are top issues that the National Assembly should tackle. "They must therefore set the parameters that will determine the harmony of our nation," he said.
But the presidential candidate of the National Advance Party (NAP), Dr. Tunji Braithwaite is worried that the lawmakers might be unable to stop the President from tinkering with the constitution because of the majority his party holds in the Assembly.
Elderstatesman and frontline nationalist, Chief MCK Ajuluchukwu wants the National Assembly to wage a war against poverty and respond to the suffering of Nigerians. To Ajuluchukwu, corruption remains a paramount issue. What becomes of the
ICPC Act, he argues should worry every right thinking Nigerian.
"The ICPC Act should be empowered and made effective. Nigeria is the most corrupt country in Africa and the second most corrupt in the world. Because of the corrupt image of the country, I have not travelled out in the last three years. Recently, the oil companies said that they have been making secret payments to people in high places in Nigeria. The National Assembly should investigate it and call the oil companies because they said that is why there is no development in the country."
And Okpozo said that, "to make the ICPC effective, they should formulate bills that will check how people acquire wealth in this country. They should make a law that will make people to disclose the source of their income or the state will confiscate it."
Said he: "The National Assembly should be very firm. The members should not sit in Abuja, they need to consult with their constituencies and know the problems of the people.
"The National Assembly should review the Electoral Act to make sure that the president and governors have no constitutional right to appoint people who should be electoral commissioners whether state or federal. They should make a law that will enable each political party to have a representative at the electoral commission. The Chief Justice should select somebody of proven integrity to be chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). State electoral commissions should be scrapped. It is only the INEC that should supervise all elections, state or federal.
"Each party should be empowered to nominate a representative to take care of the councils, it should not be left to the governors, until polls are held. The lawmakers should not be stooges or play party politics once they are at the National Assembly."
Despite the plethora of expectations from the lawmakers, the legislature is faced with some of its own problems. There is independence of the legislature, protection of the Constitution, the Off Shore/On Shore dichotomy, the controversy surrounding the Electoral Act 2002 and the ICPC Act. Although some of the issues could be more urgent than the others, the manner of their resolution will perhaps determine the future of a lot of things.
Amendment of the 1999 Constitution
This is perhaps the hub of the issues that faces the National Assembly. The agitation for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution started quite early in the life of the Fourth Republic.
No Constitution since the 1966 military coup abrogated the 1963 Independence Constitution has attracted as much opprobrium as the 1999 Constitution, bequeathed on the nation by the government of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. The widespread condemnation of the constitution was based on the principle that the document was an exclusive constitution, an imposition and a product of a cabal in the military. Among the many flaws of the Constitution is the blatant misrepresentation in the preamble where it purported that the people prepared it. Its preparation was devoid of any consultation with the people and there were no informed debates on it.
And the agitation for a proper constitution, prepared by the people never stopped. Perhaps as a response to the agitation, Obasanjo in 1999, set up a Presidential Committee for the Review of the 1999 Constitution (PCRC). Headed by a former governor of Cross River State, Chief Clement Ebiri, the membership of the committee was drawn from the then three political parties - the All Peoples Party (APP), Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
And in May 2000, the National Assembly inaugurated a 72-member committee, the Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, headed by deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu.
Though the two committees worked independently, there was an agreement that their reports will be harmonised by the National Assembly as the substructure for a new Constitution. One issue that raised huge excitement among Nigerians was the recommendation of a non-consecutive one term of five years for the president and governors. For example, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) called for a quick amendment.
Recognising the pressure the then Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Prince Chibudom Nwuche said that the amendment, "may not wait along others to go through all the procedure. We have to extract that provision and pass it as a singular amendment because of its urgency."
It was said then that the appeal of the provision was in the light of the uncertainty and violence that characterised the electoral process especially with the desire for a second term in the 2003 General Election.
Also welcomed was the recommendation for a rotational presidency and two vice presidents. This was to make governance more representative and redress cries of marginalisation among the six geo-political zones. It was also seen as not only an attempt to make the election rancour free, but as part of the restructuring of the polity.
Despite the enthusiasm that greeted the report of the Committees in the National Assembly, the constitution was not amended.
Mantu explained recently that members of the National Assembly had wanted to conclude the review of the constitution before the end of the life of the last National Assembly but lack of fund among other factors slowed down the pace of their work.
With perhaps the benefit of hindsight, he believes that the suspension of work on the Constitution was responsible for some of the problems that were seen during the last elections. He however looks forward to the legislators accelerating things to complete the work.
Mantu said: "Let me say this, most of the ugly things we witnessed during the election could have been avoided if the new constitution had been adopted."
He was particular about the problems associated with the desire for most elected politicians to seek a second term which the review had pre-empted and sought to eliminate by providing for one term of five years for the governors and president.
"I am glad that this happened and Nigerians have seen why some of us were insisting and recommending one term. I am sure that by the time we revisit the issue, 99 per cent of Nigerians will say yes to a single term in office.
However, the National Assembly was not considered as altruistic as it posed in the expressed urgency as the review was hinged on its own political calculations. As one politician puts it, "the gamut of the whole exercise was orchestrated to limit the political fortunes of the executive as nothing was said of the tenure of the lawmakers. And it was not surprisingly that the whole excitement fizzled out."
With the elections over, the National Assembly is faced with revisiting the issue in the light of fresh developments. A sense of urgency surrounds the amendment of the constitution. The urgency is against the background of unwavering calls for a National Conference and the restructuring of the country.
Close to that is the Technical Committee set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to review the fate of the local councils. Faced therefore with the certainty that the 1999 Constitution will be amended, the task before the National Assembly is the method to adopt. Will it convoke a National Conference or invoke Section 9(1) and (2), which stipulates the process of the amendment of the constitution?
Subsection (2) states: "An act of the National Assembly for the alteration of this constitution, not being an Act to which Section (8) of this Constitution applies, shall not be passed in either House of the National Assembly unless the proposal is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of that House and approved by resolution of the Houses of Assembly of not less than two thirds of all the states."
The lawmakers could opt for this option considering the majority the PDP has in the National Assembly.
Local Council Reforms
Shortly before the council system was consumed by confusion, the chairmen visited the president with a simple request. They asked him to extend their tenure. For an answer, the unamused president told the chairmen that: "If it takes you three years to prepare for madness, how long will it take you to walk into the market naked?"
The chairmen were bemused at the scoffing which was interpreted to mean that for three years, they had perhaps brazenly rehearsed to loot their treasury and if the president gave them one more year, they would wreck the councils.
Obasanjo's reply is perhaps illustrative of his attitude to the councils. It was not much of a surprise he announced the setting up of a 12-man Technical Committee to look into the affairs and fate of the councils.
Divergent commentaries greeted the setting up of the Committee. Those who tow the President's argument, say that the system is ridden with corruption. The chairmen are also blamed for failing in their duty of providing or improving facilities in their domains. However, critics wonder if poor performance is a sin peculiar to only the councils. They have argued that the entire structure of governance should be reformed.
The National Assembly has more than a couple of reasons to pay attention to the reforms.
The problem with the councils started shortly after the councils were inaugurated in 1999. Their tenure became an issue.
A manipulation of the Electoral Act 2001 by the National Assembly sought by default to extend the tenure of the councils. Only the State Houses of Assembly can extend the tenure of the councils and realising a threat by the National Assembly to usurp their powers, the governors went to court. The Supreme Court ruled on a three-year tenure for the councils.
The issue of their election was pending. Scheduled dates were changed as exigencies arose. The initial date of May 18 was changed to August 10. Meanwhile, the councils had been dissolved and caretaker committees appointed in their place. The latest date of June 21 had also proved unattainable and the councils are now set for reform.
Also in the creation of more councils, the National Assembly had been less forthcoming despite the fact that most state governments had created councils and forwarded the lists to the National Assembly.
The constitution recognises that a state can create local councils following laid down procedures and the National Assembly under Section 8 (6) of the Constitution exercises control over the states' function.
Section 8 (6) states that: "For the purpose of enabling the National Assembly to exercise the powers conferred upon it by subsection (5) of this section, each House of Assembly, shall after the creation of more local government areas pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, make returns to each House of the National Assembly."
The states did not get the recognition of the councils they created before the inauguration of the current National Assembly. Members of the previous Assembly accused the state governments of not following prescribed procedures. But there were speculations that the recognition had been withheld under pressure from the Executive, which was concerned more with the revenue to the new councils.
The President, who has never hidden his displeasure with the performance of the councils, said that, "many of the chairmen and councillors just share the allocations for the councils among themselves. Some are very corrupt." It was only a logical sequence when the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and fiscal Commission (RMAFC) halted the disbursement of revenues to the Caretaker Committees.
In setting up a Technical Committee, the President listed four terms of reference. Incidentally, only two items deal with the issue of the councils. The committee headed by Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Umaru Ndayako is expected to:
- Review the performance of local councils within the last four years and consider the desirability or otherwise of retaining them as the third tier of a government. In that regard consider among other options, the adoption of a modified version of the pre-1976 local government system of government.
- Examine the high cost of electioneering campaign in the country and consider, among other options, the desirability of whether political parties, rather than individual office seekers, should canvass votes in elections and
- Consider any other matters, which in the opinion of the Technical Committee, are germane to the goal of efficient structure of governance in Nigeria.
The scenario that is before the National Assembly as the Technical Committee discusses the reformation of the local government system is that of complicity. The governors who had always been eager to control the councils had lobbied to appoint the chairmen instead of electing them. They had found support in the president but this is not a question of what the governors want, but what the constitution says.
And it is instructive that the National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution sees the councils as the third tier of government.
Section 7 (1) of the reviewed constitution states: "the system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall subject to Section 7 of this constitution, ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils."
On its tenure, Section 8(2) states: "Local government councils shall stand dissolved at the expiration of a period of three years commencing from the date of the first sitting of the council."
As the 12-man Technical Committee sits, the role of the National Assembly becomes an issue. The committee's recommendations can only be implemented through an amendment of the constitution. The National Assembly will have to answer whether the issue of corruption and financial impropriety are more prevalent in the councils than in the federal and state governments. Is this a ploy to restructure the polity piecemeal especially as the issue of cost of governance spreads across the entire fabric of governance?
Many politicians believe that the manner in which the president is embarking on the reforms presupposes that he is expecting the National Assembly to rubber-stamp it.
Before the National Assembly then is the issue of its independence and its constitutional responsibilities which most of the lawmakers have pledged to protect.
However, the PDP led-Federal Government with its majority in the National Assembly and in the states could seek an amendment of the Constitution to suit its designs. But that will be if the National Assembly plays along. Ironically, the PDP, which had always seemed reluctant to embark on any restructuring, seems eager now to initiate reform.
Convocation of national Conference
The agitation for a National Conference is a persistent one. It acquired a strong nuisance value after the June 12, 1993 presidential elections presumed won by the late Chief MKO Abiola. That call became strident at the inception of the Fourth Republic when the 1999 constitution with all its imperfections was seen as a military imposition. There was therefore the need for a national conference to produce a people's constitution.
But the idea never appealed to the military or the lawmakers in the previous National Assembly. The reason then was in the nomenclature. The advocates had demanded for a Sovereign National Conference and it was thought improper to have two sovereignties in the state at the same time. And if the name was going to be a problem, the advocates were ready to eliminate sovereign, the offensive word from their demand. But despite that, the government has continued to scoff at the idea.
However, the setting up of two committees to review the constitution was initially seen as a prospect to gather the people and talk about a people's constitution. But it never came through and the reports of the two committees are yet to see the light of day.
Most observers have said that all the complaints about the 1999 constitution and some of the problems that emanate therefrom will continue unless there is a new constitution. It is in this regard that the attempt by the president to amend the constitution through other means is criticised.
Ajuluchukwu said that the lawmakers should enact a law enabling the convocation of National Conference instead of just tinkering with it piecemeal and pretend that the National Assembly can cure the problems with it.
He said: "The National Assembly should pass the private bill on National Conference that was submitted by The Patriots so that we can go to the conference to decide how we can live together in this country."
According to Okpozo, "if the National Assembly think they are capable of restructuring the country, they should bring their proposals for us to scrutinise. But they cannot do it because party politics will rear its ugly head. It should be done through the National Conference."
In the terms of reference to the committee on council reform, it was observed that only two items directly concerned the councils. The other two dwelt on issues that are fundamental and could only be effected through an amendment of the constitution.
Implicit in the president's order to the committee is a desire to restructure the country without following the path of the National Conference. The Technical Committee is detailed to consider any other matters, which in the opinion of the Technical Committee, are germane to the goal of efficient structure of governance in Nigeria.
Ajuluchukwu said that the president should be bold enough to call for the structuring of the country because some of his actions point towards that.
The National Assembly will continue to hear this call until it settles the issue of amendment of the constitution.
ISSUES
* ICPC Act
* Electoral Act
* Council Reforms
* On Shore/Off Shore dichotomy
* National Conference
* Constitutional Amendment
* Legislative / Executive feud
The scenario that is before the National Assembly as the Technical Committee discusses the reformation of the local system is that of complicity. The governors who had always been eager to control the councils had lobbied to appoint the chairmen instead of electing them. They had found support in the president but this is not a question of what the governors want, but what the constitution says. And it is instructive that the National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution sees the councils as the third tier of government
Despite the plethora of expectations of the people from the lawmakers, urgency surrounds its resolution of the amendment of the constitution, which was initiated by the previous National Assembly. The urgency is against the background of unwavering calls for a National Conference and the restructuring of the country. Close to that is the Technical Committee set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to review the fate of the local councils.
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