Barely two weeks into the new year (2024), the National Assembly is mired in negative public perception arising from alleged hoarding of bags of rice meant for constituents by the 469 federal lawmakers. TAIYE ODEWALE reports.
Perception
As defined by Cambridge Dictionary, perception connotes belief or opinion, often held by many people about something, person, persons or policy.
Derivatively, for the National Assembly over the years, its public perception has been poor due to combination of factors, one of which is constituency projects execution, the 469 federal lawmakers entered into, with the executive arm of government during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency.
Concept of constituency projects and lawmakers’ image problem
Constituency projects for the 469 federal lawmakers as conceptualised by former President Olusegun Obasanjo was solely geared towards taking delivery of dividends of democracy from the centre to the grassroots across the 109 senatorial districts and 360 federal constituencies.
The plan as originally conceptualised, was for each of the 469 federal lawmakers to suggest projects for execution to the executive in their various constituencies.
However, due to failure of execution of such projects by the executive in the implementation of yearly budgets, the federal lawmakers, or better put, the National Assembly during consideration of yearly budgetary proposals right from the time of Obasanjo’s presidency, used to include such projects in the budget which invariably led to the problem of padding.
Even at that, despite the lawmakers, including the projects in the budget with attendant N100billion appropriation for them on yearly basis, the executive hardly execute them to the fullest with just about 30 to 50 per cent implementation which always result into frictions between the federal lawmakers and affected sitting presidents at different times.
Obasanjo’s missile against NASS over constituency projects
Despite introducing it during his tenure as President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2016 during the first tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency, openly slammed the National Assembly for disturbing the executive with implementation of the projects through required cash – backing.
Precisely, in 2016 at a public lecture in Lagos, Obasanjo said: “The so-called constituency projects is veritable source of corruption. These constituency projects are spread over the budget for members of the national assembly for which they are the initiators and the contractors directly or by proxy and money would be fully drawn with the project only partially executed or not executed at all.
“The national assembly budget process is not only carried out in opaque and corruptive manner but also in grossly unconstitutional manner. Hence, our lawmakers are lawbreakers. They are the accused, the prosecutor, the defenders and the judge in their own case.
“We should not continue to live with the impunity and corruption of the national assembly. Yes, I believe that something can and should be done. The president should ride on the crest of the popularity of what is happening in the judiciary to set up a highly technical team of incorruptible investigators to look into the so-called constituency projects of the past and the present and bring culprits to book.
“The president has overall responsibility and accountability for any fund appropriated under his watch. There would be many of such projects and the National Assembly would try to frustrate such necessary investigation. But the project sites are known and magnitude of funds voted for them are known. The investigation will reveal the true situation.
“Once, when I was president, I asked outside auditors, both normal and forensic, to audit the account of the National Assembly, they frustrated it on the basis of separation of power.
“They claimed they had oversight responsibility for their corruption and misdemeanour and nothing can be done. It is like asking a thief to watch over himself. There must be full disclosure of all relevant fiscal information in a timely and systematic manner at all levels”.
Using it as rub my back, I rub your own mechanism
Being a very controversial issue , the 8th National Assembly then, refused to react to Obasanjo’s allegations but still retained the concept in yearly budgetary proposals and executions.
During the tenure of the same National Assembly headed by Senator Bukola Saraki as President of the Senate and Hon Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the House of Representatives, appropriations for constituency projects were made, in approving bogus service wide votes proposals from the executive.
Appropriations for intervention projects across the six geo – zones were even added in the 9th National Assembly all for collaborations on sustenance and execution of the concept on yearly basis.
Non – results yielding clarifications
At different times over the years, as a result of bashings received from Nigerians over constituency projects inserted into National budget on yearly basis, members of the National Assembly either from the Senate or the House of Representatives, have always explained to Nigerians that such projects were only recommended by them and not executed by them but by relevant agencies of the executive arm of government.
However, such explanations have always been thrown away by Nigerians , many of who believe that each of the federal lawmakers, collect money for execution of the projects.
NILDS Intervention
As a way of helping out the National Assembly from negative perception foisted on it by Nigerians , the Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Professor Abubakar Sulaiman tasked the media to help in righting the wrong narrative.
The NILDS DG who in September 2022 at a capacity-building workshop, specifically, made the appeal to journalists covering the National Assembly said: “In the case of the National Assembly, poor coverage over the years has contributed to the negative perception of the parliament by citizens.
“Such misperceptions are often echoed by the press in a way that tends to set the people against their elected representatives.
“Most reporters limit themselves to the superficial elements and ‘drama’ that often characterise deliberative assemblies worldwide and not the core roles , functions and workings of the legislature.
“Public perception of the National Assembly is not reflective of the critical roles it has been playing in stabilising the polity, deepening democracy and promoting good governance in Nigeria over the decades through required legislative interventions”.
Impacts of NILDS admonition
Apparently keying into admonition given by the Director General of NILDS against amplification of negative and unverifiable reports on members of the National Assembly, the latest rumour spread against them on alleged bags of Rice collected from President Bola Tinubu for distribution to constituents during the just ended yuletide, was not well reported in the media and even officially refuted by the Presidency.
The Presidential rebuttal signed by the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun reads: “Clarification on the distributed NASS palliatives by the presidency during the festive period.
“President Tinubu did not give cash to the National Assembly members as palliatives to the people in their constituencies and senatorial districts.
“The President through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security only distributed rice and other food items as palliatives and sort of Constituency Projects worth N100million per federal constituency and N200million per Senatorial constituency.
“The NASS members who are considered to be closest to ordinary Nigerians people in all parts of the country.
“The emanating insinuations from some Nigerians out there suggesting that some National Assembly members are hoarding the palliatives is grossly misleading because they can only distribute when they have received it, and this is due to logistic reasons behind the distribution process.
“Again, President Tinubu approved the distribution of trailers’ load of food materials to National Assembly members, but it was not done in cash. It was food items sourced through the Ministry of Agriculture.”
The take home from the above clarification is constituency projects mentioned in paragraph three from which each of the 360 members of House of Representatives is allocated N100m and each of the 109 serving Senators, N200million with attendant outrage from the public.
The earlier the National Assembly either do away with the issue of constituency projects or insulate itself from their executions, the better for its image always mired by it.
