– Babs Yusuf

The National Assembly of Nigeria, entrusted with the critical role of overseeing the nation’s budget and ensuring accountability, has failed to fall short of its mandate, succumbing to self-serving interests at the expense of the Nigerian people. From extravagant purchases, such as acquiring Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) worth a staggering 160 million naira each, to unjustifiable salary increments of 114% and the insidious practice of budget padding, corruption has become deeply entrenched within the legislative corridors of power.

The staggering portion of the national budget allocated to the National Assembly raises serious concerns about the accountability and effectiveness of its members. Given the substantial resources allocated to their operations, it is reasonable to expect a commensurate level of performance and legislative output. However, the reality often falls short of these expectations, with many lawmakers failing to deliver meaningful results that address the pressing needs of the Nigerian people they represent.

An analysis of the 2024 budget by the Premium Times stated, “The N197 billion budget of the National Assembly is higher than those of 25 federal universities combined…This huge allocation to the federal legislature, a remnant from the past, is a continuation of President Bola Tinubu’s pampering of the lawmakers at a time ordinary Nigerians are enduring the pains of the reform initiatives of his administration like fuel subsidy removal and merger of the exchange rates of the Naira.” 

Instead, the legislature, meant to serve as a vigilant watchdog and uphold the principle of the separation of political powers, has become entangled in a web of deceit and mischief. The national assembly, rather than deliberate on salient issues such as living wage, student grants, free education, improved health schemes for the people they represent and that will improve the living conditions of the masses. Surprisingly, the priority has been to support an increase in petroleum prices, electricity tariffs and dehumanising policies, which have made one in ten people live in extreme poverty and hunger in Nigeria, according to the World Bank.

For more than two decades billions of dollars allocated for projects, ranging from construction of schools, hospitals, roads, provision of water, empowerment schemes, tagged as “constituency project” meant to be constitutional functions of the executive arm of government have become a conduit pipe of “chop I chop” for the legislature.

The alarming revelation of the current regime’s practices, including the awarding of contracts to relatives and associates, acceptance of gratuities from contractors, and the unchecked access to substantial funds by most of the politicians and even most members of the National Assembly, as extensively reported by various national media outlets, demands critical scrutiny. The staggering amounts of money allocated to individual lawmakers, based on their ranks, raise profound questions about their allegiance and priorities.

 BUDGET PADDING 

Padding of the budget, an approach of including fictitious projects and increasing budget appropriation in the name of special intervention projects, with the illusion of equitably distributing the dividend of democracy, has become a means to enrich lawmakers at the expense of the people.

According to Senator Ningi from Bauchi state, the 2024 budget was padded to the tune of 3.7 trillion Naira, aside from each senator receiving 13, 000, 000 million Naira as running costs. This empirically confirms that the red and green chambers are conduits that have drained our crude oil and other natural resources to a point where over 90 percent of what we generate as income is expended on debt servicing.

More so, the allegation that ranking senators were given 500 million Naira aside from the annual allocations attests to why they live opulent lifestyles and why workers, students, and children can hardly get basic needs.

Reports by various organisations, tracking funds for constituency projects, Budgit and ICPC attest to the fact that the national assembly is an avenue through which the executives, national assembly members and contractors connive to enrich themselves.

What interests do these National Assembly members truly represent? Why do they persist in endorsing policies advocated by international financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank? And why does the president laud their integrity despite these questionable practices?

The answers lie in the ideological support of their party’s manifesto, which unmistakably aligns with capitalist principles. Their firm adherence to defending the interests of imperialism and the bourgeoisie at the expense of the common citizenry explains their true motivations. This ideological alignment not only perpetuates systemic inequalities but also perpetuates the exploitation of the masses for the benefit of a privileged few.

It is crucial to callout the representatives of the Labour Party in the National Assembly who have failed to champion and uphold the party’s manifesto, which advocates for prioritising the welfare of the Nigerian people. This failure highlights the betrayal of the party’s core principles and the surrender to bourgeois politics. 

WHAT IS TO BE DONE

We in the Movement for a Socialist Alternative MSA wholeheartedly support the initiative to reclaim the Labour Party by labour unions and its rank and file. Buildering and transforming the party into a mass party of the working people that must put the interest of workers first and foremost as oppose to the narrow interests of party bureaucrats, who holds the party to be no more than a dumping ground for rejects from the main ruling parties of the PDP and APC.

However, all efforts at reclaiming the LP must aim to position it to challenge the dominance of the current ruling elites over the polity and the economy of the country and usher in a socialist framework characterised by a centrally planned economy, thereby ensuring equitable distribution of resources.