PRESS RELEASE
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Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili
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We, the undersigned civil society organisations, are following
with keen interest the controversy trailing the lead presentation by the former
Vice President of the World Bank for Africa and Minister for Solid Minerals and
later for Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, at the One-Day Dialogue on the Cost
of Governance in Nigeria organized by the Civil Society Legislative
Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).
The Dialogue was convened within the remit of the Steve
Orosanye-led Presidential Committee report on the Rationalisation and
Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.
In her lead presentation, Mrs. Ezekwesili spoke on several issues
that cut across governance, public finance management and development with
statistics from credible sources of government and international institutions.
The issues also cut across all levels and arms of government – including the
Executive and the Legislature – without narrowing on any specific arm of
government for condemnation.
We are thus surprised that rather than focusing and engaging the
issues flagged in Mrs. Ezekwesili presentation with a view to moving forward
the policy debate and finding a workable solution, some respondents have chosen
to play to the gallery and resort to the use of unedifying and abusive language
to address the lead paper presenter. This is demonstrated in the recent
responses by the National Assembly.
We are of the strong view that this approach to public policy
debate is not healthy for Nigeria’s democracy and it remains condemnable in its
entirety. All over the world, democracy thrives on debates founded on empirical
knowledge as against the intolerance for dissenting views.
It is important to stress that the debate about the unprecedented
cost of governance in Nigeria is not necessarily a new one, except that it has
assumed such a dangerous proportion that the Nigerian masses have become so
pauperized at the expense of a select few that goes about with the impression
that they were elected to enjoy on behalf of others.
To put the issue at hand in proper perspective, it is important to
stress that even before the CISLAC event where Mrs. Ezekwesili made her
presentation, the discourse about the high cost of governance in Nigeria has
dominated national political discourse, leading to:
·
Publication in the Daily Independent of Wednesday, 13
March, 2013, which bemoaned wasteful spending and improper utilisation of
resources by government;
·
Publication in Bussinessday
of 11 March, 2013, which revealed how the Legislature spent N5.2bn per Bill in
two years, and publication in The Punch of August 14, 2013, containing
several criticisms on the same issue.
· Publication in The
Guardian of 20 May, 2012 in which the Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was reported as saying 25% National Budget
is spent on the National Assembly, and publication in ThisDay of 18
December, 2012, which reported concerns expressed by the same CBN Governor that
over 70% of the nation’s revenue was being expended on recurrent expenditure;
· Publication in BussinessNews
of 7 November, 2012, which reported the former Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as critiquing the high
cost of governance in Nigeria, while advocating drastic reduction in expenses
associated with all tiers of government and suggesting the country drops the
keeping of a full-time National Assembly.
We hold very strongly to the opinion that Recurrent Expenditure
in the Nigerian budget has continued to outstrip capital budgetary allocations.
We are saddened that despite public outcry about the situation, the Federal
Government has not demonstrated enough commitment towards poverty reduction,
educational and infrastructural development, sound healthcare delivery in the
country owing to the leakages induced by high cost of governance and
corruption.
The recurring huge spending of the nation’s budget on political
appointees and their cronies (including needless retinue of Advisers and Aides
to The President, Vice Presidents, Ministers, Lawmakers and their counterparts
at the state and local government levels) have become an added burden to the
country in this critical period of socio-economic challenges requiring urgent redress.
Rather than dissipate energies on unproductive and needless
controversies, we recommend that:
1.
The National Assembly and the Executive should collaborate with
Civil Society to initiate a National Dialogue of stakeholders to discuss the
boggling problem of high cost of governance in Nigeria with a view to
proffering concrete and practical solutions that work.
2.
The National Assembly should, in the spirit of transparency and
accountability, refrain from making its withdrawal from national appropriation,
a matter of secrecy; In fact, it should as a matter of urgency publicly publish
its remunerations as it is practised in the United States that is our model of
democracy (http://disbursements.house.gov/).
3.
Both the Legislature (NASS) and the Executive should, rather than
engage in frivolous and wasteful spending, commit to the judicious utilization
of Nigeria’s national resources to deliver public good and guarantee the
welfare of the citizenry as a way of fulfilling the primary purpose for which
government exists.
We, the undersigned, in the spirit of evidence-based advocacy and
constructive engagement, will be glad to collaborate with the National Assembly
and the Executive to promote transparency and accountability and reduce cost of
governance in the country.
SIGNED
1. African Centre for Media &
Information Literacy
2. Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE)
3. Bauchi Coalition for Improvement of
Public Expenditure Management (BACIPEM)
4. Centre Democracy and Development (CDD)
5. Centre for Information Technology and
Development(CITAD)
6. Centre for Social Justice (CSJ)
7. Citizen’s Forum for Constitutional
Forum (CFCR)
8. Civil Society Legislative Advocacy
Centre (CISLAC)
9. Community Action For Popular
Participation(CAPP)
10.
Environmental Rights Action(ERA)
11.
National Procurement Watch Platform(NPWP)
12.
Resource Centre For Human Rights& Civil Education(CHRICED)
13.
Partners on Electoral Reform
14.
Public and Private Development Centre(PPDC)
15.
Say NO Campaign – Nigeria
16.
Transition Monitoring Group (TMG)
17.
United Action for Democracy (UAD)
18.
West Africa Civil Society Forum (WACSOF-Nigeria)
19.
Zero - Corruption Coalition (ZCC)
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