House Speaker, Dimeji Bankole had taken on the CBN Governor on
allegations that too much money is being spent servicing the National
Assembly. Speaking at the University of Lagos, Bankole said,
"Nigeria's budget is N4.3 trillion. The National Assembly got N100
billion. How has that translated to 25 per cent? I'm praying that he
(Sanusi) has been misquoted. Some of us in politics went to school."
I want to refer Bankole back to the statement credited to Sanusi.
Mallam Sanusi said,
"If you look at the budget, the bulk of government spending is
revenue; revenue expenditure. That is a big problem; 25 per cent of
overhead of Federal Government goes to the National Assembly. We need
power, we need infrastructure, so we need to start looking at the
structure of expenditure and make it more consistent with the
development initiative of the country,"
25% of overhead does NOT mean 25% of National budget. So, Speaker
Bankole, when the Governor said you and your colleagues take away 25%
of government's overhead cost, he was not referring to the total
budget. So there is no pint telling us how much of school politicians
have attended. However, on our part as Nigerians, we don't need to go
to school to see that we need;
- Good roads
- Employment opportunity
- Uninterruptible Power supply
- Affordable housing
- Quality education
- Reliable water supply system
- Ecological care
- Adequate security
- Revamped and working insurance and banking system
- stable and responsible political leadership
So, next time the speaker chooses to engage anyone in intellectual
debates and display of educational attendance, I enjoin him to think
about satisfying his duties as public servants first. This is the more
important reason I am tempted to rate Buhari higher that other
presidential aspirants as he had made it clear in his interview with
Nigeria Village Square that Lawmakers should accept a downward review
of their salaries and allowances. (I hope I can hold him on these
words if he becomes president to champion this cause as Barack Obama
championed health care reform even when it was not popular with
special interest groups).
Bankole's counterpart in the Senate, Ayogu Eze who is also the Senate
Commitee Chairman on Information and Media is threatening to summon
Sanusi to defend his position. But I will equally advise their senate
to reconsider this approach as you can't wash a spot off a leopard.
Nigerians have been shouting on the obscene remunerations lawmakers
earn since the Obasanjo's first term. So, this is not about if you
earn 3.5% or 25% of our overhead, total budget or whatever. The
question is if you are discharging your roles as true representatives.
The answer I know is NO. Look at this issue rather than chasing
shadows.
For further information on these issues visit these newspages:
http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/20375.html
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