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Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives on Monday gave vivid account of how National Assembly exposed revenue leakages worth over N3 trillion over the past few years.
Dogara disclosed this while speaking on ‘Deepening democracy: Role of the Legislature,’ at the third Public Lecture series organised by Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa state.
The Speaker who underscored the role of the Legislature as aptly stipulated in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) noted that “the House of Representatives investigation uncovered various sharp or
fraudulent practices by several mda’s which included under declaration, non-remittance and diversion of revenues generated by them worth over 2 trillion naira.”
He added that the National Assembly’s oversight work also “exposed pension fraud worth billions of naira, about N195 billion.”
According to him, in 2017, the House Committees during the oversight of MDGS projects, ensured that about N38.5 billion was returned to the coffers of the Federal Government which was traced to inefficiencies and inability of MDAS to spend on MDGS-related projects.
Similarly, the House Committee on Finance during its investigation “discovered various cash balances in several accounts of revenue collecting agencies totaling
N563 billion which had to be remitted into the Federation Account as a result of the legislative intervention”.
He also recalled that the House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2005, secured the release of N18 billion due to the Commission from various oil companies.
The Speaker added that the Lower Chamber has so far conducted about hundreds of investigative hearings and presented reports on major economic crimes in the country over the years.
According to him, some of the investigate public hearing conducted by of 8th House of Representatives conducted include investigations on the award of contract for the rehabilitation of Nigerian Railways;
Installation of CCTV Cameras in Abuja and Lagos, alleged $17 billion stolen from undeclared crude oil and LNG exports to global destinations; The investigative hearing on Centenary City Project; Pre- Shipment investigation, Amnesty programme and several anti-
corruption investigations.
In his assessment of the Legislature under democratic dispensation, Dogara noted that National Assembly has contributed a lot in stabilising and deepening Nigeria’s constitutional democracy through strengthening of due process and the rule of law.
Going down memory lane, the Speaker narrated how the bill he sponsored in the Seventh Assembly which sought to simply procedures for impeachment of the President and Vice President was defeated during the constitution amendment exercise.
He lamented that the provisions of section 143 of the 1999 constitution makes it impossible for the National Assembly to remove the President or Vice President and described it as “satanic verses”.
He maintained that democracy is a government of laws and not of men and that with provisions of section 143 in place President can choose not to obey the law saying, “because he can choose the laws to obey without any retribution.”
Dogara, argued that democracy cannot thrive without citizens’ active participation because it is the responsibility of the people to protect democracy and hold leaders accountable
“There can be no democracy without the active participation of the citizens. Any country where the government fear the citizens then it is a democracy.
He declared “The legislature in Nigeria has contributed immensely in deepening the practice of constitutional democracy in Nigeria, especially since the introduction of the 1999 Constitution, in its various functions. If Democracy rests on the due process and the rule of law, it therefore means that our democracy can only be as deep as the laws upon which it is built.”
The Speaker also noted that the 8th House of Representatives under his leadership as Speaker, has made outstanding contributions to deepening democracy in Nigeria through the faithful implementation of its Legislative Agenda, which serves as a compass of its legislative activities for four years (2015 to 2019) to deepen democracy in Nigeria.
He added that the 8th Assembly achieved this by providing leadership in the areas of accountable and transparent government, citizens engagement, constituency representation, collaboration with its counterpart in the Senate and other arms of government to legislate for the common good of the Nigerian people, legislation to create reforms in Nigeria’s national economy and development, tackle poverty, unemployment, confront the scourge of corruption, terrorism and security challenges in the country, environment and reduction in the cost of running government, reduce wastage and tackle national revenue leakages.
The Speaker argued that the House has been committed to playing its part by rescuing Nigeria from the clutches of hunger, poverty, disease, social, economic, political and infrastructural quagmire and ensuring transparency and accountability, not just by the House of Representatives but also by government at all levels.
“Even the most casual observer of Nigeria’s democracy in the last three electoral cycles would admit that despite perceived gaps in the exercise of its oversight mandate, the legislature at the national level has achieved a modicum of institutional growth. At the national level, the legislature is increasingly becoming more assertive in the process of law making,” he stated.
Dogara said it was in view of the fact that a weak legislature is antithetical to good governance and consolidation of the country’s hard won democracy, that the National Assembly, through various legislative measures, intervened to specifically strengthen the Legislative institution in order to position it to play its prominent role in our constitutional democracy.
“The National Assembly amended the Constitution in 2010 that placed it on the first line charge, thereby ensuring its relative financial and administrative autonomy.
“Furthermore, the National Assembly set up the National Institute of Legislative Studies to provide crucial capacity enhancement for legislators, legislative staff and the institution as a whole.”
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
