A former member of the Nigerian Senate, Ita Enang, has blamed the National Assembly for the nation’s rising debt profile and fall in the value of the naira.
Enang who also served as Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly matters, stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of Oversight Magazine, a publication dedicated to reporting events in the parliament and published by a former member of the House of Representatives, Aniekan Umannah.
The All Progressives Congress chieftain further hit his former constituency, accusing it of failing to ask critical questions concerning the health of the nation’s economy.
Enang who served as Chairman of both the House and Senate Committees on Rules and Business said both chambers of the National Assembly have never published any report of their oversight function as required of them or asked relevant questions relating to the present national debt.
He said, “It is the fault of the National Assembly for failing to do their oversight function. If the National Assembly were able, they would ask questions. When you pass a budget, you embark on oversight to see how much of that budget has been released and to what extent the projects in that budget have been executed.
“After that, you bring a report to the floor stating how much has been released and to what extent that project has been executed. You will then know how much is needed to complete those projects that will be included in next year’s budget and what to project in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework in the next three years to exit that project.
“So, the failure of the Nigerian economy, the collapse of the naira, and the unimaginable debt of Nigeria is the failure of the National Assembly.
Although, Enang commended the lawmakers for their oversight role in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies; he
lamented that they have never brought their report to the floor of the parliament for deliberation as required of them.
This is just as he blamed the failure of the executive arm of government both at the state and national level to implement policies on poor oversight function of the National Assembly as well as state Houses of Assembly across the country.
He continued, “Again, the National Assembly never asked, where is the account of the last budget because under the law, you are expected to receive that report and see the extent of compliance before you agree for the President to come and present the next budget.
“The debt we are said to be owing is the failure of the National Assembly because they have never asked questions. When you seek to speak on the floor on such matters, they say ‘You are blowing grammar’ and before you know it, the gavel has gone.
“Has the National Assembly ever asked; the loan you said we took; is it the application of the funds in that loan that will generate the money we will use to pay for that loan and the accrued interest? They have never asked and we use oil money to pay the loan we took.
“Unfortunately, most of these loans never arrive in Nigeria. Some are in Sports Utility Vehicles and some are kept somewhere.
“How will the legislature ever go on oversight when they will not publish the report of the oversight? They won’t even bring the report to the floor,” he lamented.
On his part, the Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Oluwole Oke, agreed with Enang that the parliament has not been able to perform its oversight function owing to inadequate funding and lack of capacity.
Oke noted that while attempts were made by past governments towards ensuring accountability, there have been no serious efforts from the parliament to ensure that.
He asked, “As a parliament, are we oversight? I have been in the parliament since 2003 and I can tell you that we don’t have what it takes to carry out effective oversight.
“When you take on a responsible accounting officer who knows what he or she is doing, all he needs to do is to blame your doorsteps because you passed the appropriation and after all, it is your job.
“When we begin to look at the impediments, the question then is, why can’t we oversight? Do we have the funds, do we have the capacity? What type of budget are we operating in Nigeria?
“You want to oversight the Niger Delta Development Commission and they will be the ones to buy your ticket and accommodate you. After that, you will come and ask them questions about infractions when you have lost control.
He also called on the media to rise to the challenges of transparent governance.
“The government uses the media to communicate with the people, while the people also express their opinion over government actions and inaction towards their needs through the media.
“As a public watchdog, the media has a major role of oversight and to play this role, the media must not only have a deep understanding of legislative affairs but must also be critical of the way the legislature functions. They must have sources among the legislators, and staff to understand the decisions that committees and legislators make in the House.
“The oversight function of the media over democratic institutions cannot be over-emphasized because it serves as the backbone of accountability and oversight of democracy”.
Also speaking, the lawmaker representing Abia Central Senatorial District, Austin Akobundu, also highlighted the importance of oversight in the governance process.
“I know the role of oversight and its importance in the public space. Oversight is about transparency and accountability. It involved monitoring, evaluation, and upholding ethical standards,” he said.
